AN ETHICAL RESPONSE TO FASHION EXCESS
The Australian Fashion Council are proud to partner with and support Thread Together, a not for profit founded by Andie Halas in 2012.
Thread Together is a global first – diverting brand-new unsold clothes destined for landfill and providing choice to restore dignity and hope to the most disadvantaged across the country.
Thread Together keeps clothing in circulation, giving unsold products new life, to people who need it most. They address the environmental issue of new clothing waste and the social challenge of clothing insecurity. They believe that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, deserves access to essential clothing supporting their dignity, confidence and self-esteem.
Collaborating with the fashion industry to collect unsold inventory, Thread Together clothes over 2,000 people in need across Australia each week. They partner with more than 3,000 charities and social service agencies and are supported by countless dedicated volunteers.
How brands can get involved:
As a fashion brand, you can donate your unsold stock to Thread Together. They’ve removed all barriers to make the process straightforward: there’s no minimum donation requirement, no restrictions on the age of the stock, and Thread Together will collect clothing from anywhere in Australia, free of charge. A donation acknowledgment receipt is also provided. If you are interested in making a donation, click here: https://threadtogether.org/fashion-partner-clothing-donation/
BECOME A FASHION PARTNER OF THREAD TOGETHER:
The Fashion Industry is one of the largest polluting industries in the world. What’s more, in addition to the impact of clothing production on the environment, around one third of all new clothing is not sold and ends up being sent to landfill or incinerated.
Clothing is a basic human right. Sadly, in Australia, more than 3.5 million people do not have access to essential clothing. This equates to one in eight adults and one in six children.
All clothing is given at no cost to people in need via their online wardrobe, mobile wardrobes, clothing hubs and built in wardrobes. All which is made possible by their network of charities, social service agencies and fashion partners.
- Indigenous communities
- Vulnerable aged
- Financially disadvantaged
- Marginalised communities
- People seeking refuge
- People experiencing homelessness
- Youth at risk
- Survivors of domestic violence
- People returning from incarceration
- People impacted by natural disasters
- Those affected by the pandemic
- Long term unemployed
- People mental health issues
- People with disabilities
- Rural, regional, remote communities
The work done at Thread Together may be simple but it requires a lot of teamwork, relying heavily on the support of corporate and community volunteers to help deliver this service to people in need. By volunteering at Thread Together you will be helping people in crisis all over Australia and ensuring that brand new clothing remains in circulation.
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Community volunteers in Sydney help to sort, pick and pack orders for Thread Togethers online store. There are opportunities in several states to support their Mobile Wardrobe community visits and with helping clients to select their new wardrobes from the Clothing Hubs.
CORPORATE AND GROUP VOLUNTEERING
Thread Together welcomes corporate groups and other teams looking for a unique and meaningful team-building activity or community support day. Listen to stories shared by a speaker impacted by Thread Togethers work, pack and sort clothing that goes directly to people in need and learn how Thread Together collaborates with their generous partners to help over 2,000 people every week.
For more information on volunteering with Thread Together and how you and your team can get involved, click here
"Being able to provide a small amount of dignity at someone's most difficult moment is a truly humbling and rewarding experience. Unfortunately, the opportunity to create these moments is only increasing as the frequency of major crises increases – the compounding impact of the pandemic, bushfires, floods, those seeking refuge from Afghanistan on top of the ever-growing daily need of those experiencing vulnerability across Australia cannot be understated."
- Anthony Chesler, C.E.O of Thread Together
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