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Woolworths launches Denim Drop-Off programme

9 Oct 2024

Woolworths has launched its new Denim Drop-Off programme, inviting customers to give their preloved denims a new lease on life.

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As part of Woolworths’ ongoing commitment to sustainability, the initiative will see donated denim collected at designated clothing bins located at Woolworths fashion shop till points in 20 stores nationally.

These items will be handed over to Taking Care of Business’ (TCB) Remake programme, where they will be transformed into newly designed products. TCB supports budding seamstresses who are starting up and growing their micro-manufacturing businesses.

“Reducing waste to landfills and supporting circularity are key components of our Good Business Journey, so we are delighted to offer our customers the opportunity to join us and TCB in creating a new life for their denim clothes instead of discarding them. To kick start the initiative, we are giving customers with WRewards membership a R200 voucher for their next RE: Denim purchase with each drop-off,” says Feroz Koor, Woolworths Group head of sustainability.

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The TCB Remake programme plays a vital role in empowering seamstresses by providing them with the necessary skills and resources to run financially viable micro-manufacturing businesses. The programme offers business, life and technical skills training as well as ongoing mentorship and access to stock to kick-start their businesses.

“Our seamstresses use donations of clothing, fabric, and haberdashery, and cut samples from supply chain partners like Woolworths to create various garments from handbags to dresses and skirts to toys and cushions that they then sell to support their families, “confirms Heidi Smith, head of TCB’s Remake Programme.

“We currently work with 72 seamstresses and we will recruit 100 seamstresses in 2025. These seamstresses are from under-served communities and many don’t have access to essential sewing machines and affordable fabric. Remake gives them the support they need to become financially and socially independent. On average, our Remake participants each have 4,5 dependents. Many of them are the primary breadwinners and support their direct and extended families.”

Woolworths’ RE: brand has always been at the forefront of eco-conscious and socially equitable fashion practices. And so, it is only fitting that circularity has now been added to its sustainability commitment, which already includes responsibly sourced cotton, ozone technology, laser finishing, third-party audits, and transparency.