Joining forces with our incredible charity partners, the DISSH team flew to Sydney to spend the day volunteering with Thread Together. Visiting a major Australian non-profit organization was immensely insightful, giving our team the unique opportunity to delve into their operations, circularity mission, and the tremendous amount of work that goes into delivering clothing to communities in need across Australia.
We asked DISSH Owner & Director, Lucy Henry-Hicks, to share her experience on the day,
“It was a hugely rewarding day. Learning more about the incredible work of our partners at Thread Together, led by their inspiring CEO, Anthony, was truly eye-opening."
"Our team walked away even more dedicated to finding ways to help Thread Together impact change and reach people in need. The amount of work that goes into their mission is truly astounding, so we are thrilled to be championing a cause that not only improves circularity but empowers people to feel like themselves again.” - Lucy
The trip really solidified why Thread Together is such an important partner to us. Their team is completely dedicated to helping people in need, with a customised approach to serving people from the ground up. Working in pairs throughout the day, the DISSH team helped pick and pack orders to send out to charity partners and communities. The process was incredibly tailored, with clothes picked specifically for each person, family, or group, with notes about their experience or circumstance to better meet their needs. The clothing was then packed and shipped to over 500 charity partners nationally, along with Thread Together stores, and their latest pop-up wardrobes, in the form of mobile vans across the country.
“Thread Together delivers new, quality clothing to people in need, and seeing how that helps turn their lives around continues to drive our team. Volunteering and seeing that these people can have a true shopping experience and choose their own new clothes really makes a difference. That change in mindset is so meaningful to us, which is why we are such advocates for this initiative.” - Lucy
Thread Together provides a unique charitable offering, in that they only source brand new, quality clothing for people that need it most. CEO, Anthony Chesler shares his mission,
“People doing it tough shouldn’t have to be reminded of their circumstance by wearing someone else’s clothing. Here at Thread Together we are delivering a dignified, authentic shopping experience.”
Through focusing on new clothing only, Thread Together has managed to empower so many struggling Australians, restoring their dignity and hope.
We heard from one of their charity partners, Rachael Natoli, CEO of Lokahi Foundation, “Our clients love Thread Together! They feel so empowered by the service, as they can go online, browse through the wardrobe, choose what they want from product that is brand new with tags, with no limit on what they can get. For them that is so special, having an organization that values them and will donate to support their needs really makes a difference.” Rachael started the Lokahi Foundation in 2016, after leaving a long-term abusive relationship in which she was subjected to physical, emotional, financial, and sexual abuse. Her and many others now feel confident and empowered, and through these services have been able to rebuild their lives and start fresh.
Our recent visit also cemented the need to continue making more considered decisions in our supply chain to close the loop and fight fashion waste. Lucy shares,
"Knowing our product lives on through Thread Together, serving a greater purpose to communities in need while reducing our impact on the planet, makes me really proud.”
Thread Together continues to develop scalable solutions to the fashion landfill issue, currently researching new ways to rescue their own excess stock and convert that product into more useful materials they can use or donate.
“We try to use only repurposed equipment, like recycled racks and fixtures to minimise our footprint on the environment. We’re also currently trying to repurpose the excess of the excess. Identifying the stock we have too much excess of and working to convert it into clothing we need more of, like turning men’s suits into women’s dresses, or excess swimwear/activewear into textiles. We’re essentially making up different material compositions with different pathways, to better meet the needs of our business and communities.” - Anthony
DISSH will continue to volunteer our time to help support Thread Together and learn more about their operations. Anthony attested “We don’t dress up our funding, it’s here to support keeping the lights on.” With a powerhouse team of only six employees, we have a newfound respect for their operation, identifying ways we can improve the process on our end to make it easier for them to deliver their services. One of these ways is by launching a financial donation campaign later this year to further fund and support their mission. Stay tuned for more on this exciting partnership.
