- The innovative new initiative helps THE ICONIC customers donate pre-loved clothes direct to Salvos Stores via Australia Post.
- Australians discard 23kgs of clothing per person every year – this equates to six tonnes of textiles and clothing to landfill in Australia every 10 minutes.
- Giving Made Easy marks another important milestone in THE ICONIC’s social and environmental responsibility journey.
Sydney, 23 January 2020 – Australia and New Zealand’s leading online retailer, THE ICONIC, in partnership with Australia Post and Salvos Stores, has today announced their new Giving Made Easy initiative. Giving Made Easy helps customers donate their pre-loved clothing to the Salvos using the same solution as THE ICONIC’s free and easy returns. A first for online retail in Australia, Giving Made Easy offers an innovative and convenient way to help Aussies reduce their personal textile waste footprint by giving clothes a second lease on life.
Giving Made Easy was inspired by THE ICONIC and its partners’ shared commitment to addressing clothing waste and providing a long-term solution to divert pre-loved items from landfill. By simply downloading a pre-paid postage label available on THE ICONIC’s Giving Made Easy website, all customers with an active ICONIC account can donate their pre-loved clothes at any time directly to Salvos Stores. The Salvos will then distribute the clothes to its network of 330 stores, with these clothes then sold to help raise important funds to support The Salvation Army in assisting people dealing with issues from homelessness, addiction, emergency situations and domestic violence, as well as providing support to those impacted by the current bushfires.
The Giving Made Easy initiative offers Australian customers a straightforward and convenient process to donate their pre-loved items:
- Step 1: Grab any clothes in good condition that you no longer wear1. A good test is, ‘would I give this item to a friend?’
- Step 2: Place them in any spare satchel or box you have at home. Tip: you can also reuse your ICONIC delivery satchel if you don’t need to return your latest purchase.
- Step 3: Download your free shipping label through the Giving Made Easy webpage, stick it on the package and drop it in any Australia Post Red Street Posting Box or Post Office. The package will then be sent to Salvos Stores closest location for sorting and sale.
Jaana Quaintance-James, Chief Sustainability Officer at THE ICONIC and Global Fashion Group said: “Australians discard 23kgs of clothing per person every year – that’s a whopping six tonnes of textiles and clothing to landfill in Australia every 10 minutes and a huge number to comprehend. As a leading player in the Australian fashion industry, we have an important responsibility to reduce our impact on textile waste and to influence customers’ attitudes and behaviours when it comes to clothing disposal.”
“We are proud to collaborate with both Australia Post and Salvos Stores to establish an innovative initiative that offers a streamlined and convenient way for our customers to repurpose their clothing. Not only will Giving Made Easy have a positive community impact on the people that look to the Salvation Army for support, we’re creating a way for customers to reduce their personal textile impact on the environment. This is just another milestone in our journey towards being a more sustainable and responsible fashion business, and a force for actionable change in our industry.”
Edwina Morgan, General Manager Customer & Strategy at Salvos Store said: “During 2019, Salvos Stores raised an incredible $37 million, enabling The Salvation Army to provide over 1.2 million sessions of care through their social programs across Australia. Our communities already see our stores as a great way to help everyone live more sustainably. With the launch of Giving Made Easy, we look forward to encouraging even more Aussies to donate their pre-loved clothing and provide hope where it’s needed most.”
Susan Mizrahi, Chief Sustainability Officer at Australia Post adds: “As one of Australia’s largest businesses, Australia Post wants to provide a positive example of achieving sustainability. We know that customers are choosing to purchase more sustainable products from companies that align with their personal values. We are pleased that in collaboration with THE ICONIC, we are able to provide sustainable solutions across more of our services”.
Giving Made Easy is the latest milestone in THE ICONIC’s 2020 Sustainability & Ethical Sourcing strategy, which last year saw the launch of the retailer’s Considered filter onsite enabling customers to shop by their personal sustainability values, and marked the introduction of THE ICONIC private label AERE – a linen collection with a more sustainable approach to materials. Other sustainability initiatives in 2019 included:
- Kickstarting THE ICONIC’s partnership with REDCycle, which encourages shoppers to recycle their ‘soft’ plastic packaging through REDcycle’s collection bins; available at most major supermarkets.
- Cementing an official charity partnership with Thread Together. Thread Together delivers new, good quality clothing and shoes to people in our community who are doing it tough, helping restore dignity by providing the opportunity to choose a complete wardrobe of new clothes. Thread Together’s approach to driving social and environmental change not only helps individuals and communities, it has created a new way to help manage fashion excess.
- Releasing its inaugural Annual Progress Report, which outlines THE ICONIC’s progress to date and targets for 2020 – 2025 for Ethical Sourcing, Environment, Community and Diversity, Inclusion and Body-Positivity, helping to keep both it, and the fashion industry accountable for making genuine and lasting change.
Last week, THE ICONIC also opened Bushfire Relief Donation Drop-Off Hubs at its Sydney CBD HQ and South-West Sydney Fulfilment Centre to provide long-term support to charity organisations grappling with the inundation of donations for bushfire relief. THE ICONIC will work with these charity organisations to accept2, safely store and distribute donations in partnership with its logistics partners as and when needed. For more information, visit: https://www.theiconic.com.au/bushfire-relief/
For more information on Giving Made Easy, visit: https://www.theiconic.com.au/giving-made-easy/ and to learn more about THE ICONIC’s social and environmental responsibility, visit: https://www.theiconic.com.au/sustainability/
Notes to Editors
About THE ICONIC
THE ICONIC is Australia and New Zealand’s fastest growing and leading fashion destination. Since 2011, it has defined the future of retail by creating a seamless and inspiring shopping experience for its customers. THE ICONIC boasts fast and on-time delivery across Australia and New Zealand, free shipping over $50 and free returns for 30 days, and is also Australia and New Zealand’s most downloaded fashion app. THE ICONIC has thousands of international and local brands and products across Womens, Mens, Sport, Designer, Kids and Considered with 200+ new products arriving on site daily. A proud member of Global Fashion Group, the world’s leader in online fashion for growth markets, THE ICONIC is focused on liberating its customers with endless shopping possibilities. For more information, visit http://www.theiconic.com.au.
About Global Fashion Group
Global Fashion Group is the leading fashion and lifestyle retail destination in Asia Pacific, Latin America and CIS. We connect over 10,000 global, local and own brands to a market of more than one billion consumers through four established e-commerce platforms: THE ICONIC, ZALORA, dafiti and lamoda. Through an inspiring and seamless customer experience enabled by our own technology ecosystem and operational infrastructure, we are dedicated to being the #1 fashion and lifestyle destination in our markets. With 17 offices and 10 fulfilment centres across four continents, GFG proudly employs a dynamic and diverse team with deep local knowledge and expertise. In the 9 months of 2019, GFG delivered over 24.3 million orders to 12.4 million Active Customers. ISIN: LU2010095458.
Salvos Stores
Salvos Stores are Australia’s largest charity retailer of pre-loved goods and one of the most recognisable public expressions of The Salvation Army in Australia. Reuse is our core focus. If someone loves something, but doesn’t need it anymore, we want to make it easy for them to ensure it can create joy for somebody else. We share our Vision, Mission & Values with The Salvation Army and work hard to provide our communities with experiences that enable positive social and environmental impact. For more information, visit https://www.salvosstores.com.au/
