Non-profit fashion charity Thread Together is launching a new clothing hub in Darlinghurst on Wednesday which aims to provide people in need of clothing free of charge.
The shop will be situated on Oxford Street and will run on an appointment-only basis, making it possible to retain stable client figures while social distancing norms continue.
Thread Together was formed in 2012 to repurpose discarded fashion industry items, and has since expanded to over 200 fashion affiliates, saving more than 2.5 million parts from waste, and dressing more than 350,000 individuals.
“Our model is very simple. We collect end-of-line brand stock from clothing providers. With the support of volunteers, the clothes are sorted by age, gender, and purpose, and then redistributed to people in need through charities and social service agencies across Australia. I think of it as redistributive justice,” said founder Andie Halas.
The new store is the latest in a series of charity expansions, which recently relocated to a new warehouse in Botany and tripled the storage capacity that had previously been needed to encourage further development.
“With the inevitable rise in unemployment that Australia will experience in 2020/21, and the ongoing need to service the devastated bushfire regions of Australia, Thread Together is planning towards the organisation’s biggest request for assistance, demand for product and challenges over the next two years,” the business said.
And, in partnership with St. Vincent’s de Paul, Thread Together will launch its next clothing hub in Eden, NSW, in the next few months.
Additionally, Thread Together recently partnered with Retail Apparel Group, Commonwealth Bank, Goodman Foundation and Bendon to create a fleet of four mobile wardrobes that are travelling the country to assist people in need. Two of these wardrobe vans are currently servicing the Sydney metropolitan area, while another is permanently located in Wagga Wagga, and one is on its way to Moryua, NSW.
According to the charity, 13.3 per cent of the Australian population live below Australia’s poverty line – equal to 3.3 million individuals – and this figure is expected to escalate in the coming months as employment shortages climb and government spending steadily falls back.
“Thread Together is the most ethical response to fashion excess and is grateful for all the clothing we recieve, the thousands of corporate volunteers that assist us to pick and pack with purpose as well as the network of charities and social service agencies that assist us to clothe individuals, families and communities in need,” CEO Anthony Chesler said.
SOURCE: Insideretail Australia
