The Queensland Governor, Her Excellency the Honorable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM visited the Thread Together clothing hub at Indooroopilly on 20 February 2023, coinciding with the second anniversary of the unique clothing service in Queensland.
Clothing hub partnership
The partnership between national not-for-profit Thread Together, Anglicare Southern Queensland and St Andrew’s Anglican Parish redirects brand new clothing from landfill to people in need.
Anglicare Southern Queensland Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs Sue Cooke, said that Thread Together provided more than 5,500 vulnerable Queenslanders with new clothing since its establishment in 2021 to 2023.
“The service initially commenced in Queensland in 2021 with a ‘mobile wardrobe’ sponsored by Bendon Lingerie. The van delivers clothing to those in need through Anglicare and other service providers,” Mrs Cooke said.
“Last year we were thrilled that The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO, former Governor of Queensland and former Governor-General of Australia, was able to join us to open our permanent clothing hub in Indooroopilly, to complement the van service.”
“We’re now honoured to host Her Excellency The Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM at the clothing hub to meet with our wonderful volunteers, workers and customers.”
More than 2,200 clothes saved
Nationally, Thread Together and its community partners have saved more than 2,200 tonnes of new clothing from landfill over since 2013. In 2022 alone, as a result of the Queensland and NSW floods, the initiative helped hundreds of people and saved approximately 600 tonnes of clothing from landfill.
Thread Together CEO Anthony Chesler also said that the service is a global-first. Furthermore, it’s taking excess new clothing from manufacturers and designers and redistributing it to those in need.
“Thread Together is operational in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Hobart. In addition to hubs and mobile services, Thread Together announced the ‘wardrobe project’, a national program designed to assist women and children fleeing domestic violence situations, with the installation of 100 wardrobes into women’s shelters across the nation, with five so far located in Queensland,” Mr Chesler said.
“The Thread Together Wardrobe and Capsule Service will allow women and children to access clean, new clothing including underwear, socks, sleepwear, and tracksuits, when they arrive at a shelter following a domestic violence situation.”
Learn more about our advocacy projects
Anglicare Southern Queensland participates in a range of advocacy projects for individuals, groups and communities across the regions we serve. To learn more about them, please visit the advocacy page on our website.
The Rev’d Sue Grimmett with Thread Together CEO Anthony Chesler, Her Excellency The Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM and Anglicare Southern Queensland’s Chief Executive Officer Sue Cooke with the Thread Together mobile wardrobe van