Worn for Good are dedicated to sustainable fashion and helping those in need.

There’s probably no greater advertising for an item of clothing than seeing an artist we love wearing it on stage. It’s handy having professional lighting, hundreds of adoring fans, and a truckload of talent to make any outfit pop, but have you ever wondered where those clothes end up after the show?

Worn for Good is a company that aims to minimise waste from the fashion industry (which in case you haven’t heard is the second biggest polluting industry) and also raise money for charities. They basically take the coolest of clothing donations, provide the platform to sell them, and then donate 100% of the profits to selected charities.

Musicians such as Clea, Haiku Hands, Izzi Manfredi, Jack River and more have all made donations as part of this month’s music drop. “Worn For Good is an amazing initiative; there was no doubt in my mind about contributing to their next collection. Encouraging a circular economy while being able to help those in need is a win-win,” Clea says. “My favourite donated piece is the Gail Sorronda Pilgrimage top, can’t go wrong with an extravagant balloon sleeve!”

“I’m constantly struggling with the consumption levels we think are normal, and the normality in buying something new when there is usually an option to buy it second-hand,” Jack River says. “Behind every garment is millions of travel miles, millions of litres of water, soil and environmental degradation – by simply getting better at sharing our goods, or passing them on when we aren’t using them – we can and will make a considerable dent in the fashion industries huge negative impact on our planet.”

“Taking care of the environment as much as possible is very important to me, there are so many beautiful things on this early,” Mie of Haiku Hands adds. “It saddens me to think about what we have already lost and I think any action to take care of our environment is helpful and necessary.”

Worn for Good doesn’t only work with musicians. The company has predominantly worked with some of the biggest labels in the country who have donated their unsold wares to WFG, which is perhaps an indicator of the fashion industry’s collective realisation that enough is enough. We caught up with founders Sophie Palmer and Pip Best, to find out what goes on behind the scenes at WFG. Check it below and head here to check out their latest drop:

So tell us how does WFG work?

Worn for Good is a for-purpose social enterprise. We believe that together we can reduce waste in the fashion industry by giving new life to designer apparel donated by your favourite fashion heavyweights, designers, brands and the general public. The best part is, we commit 100% of profits to three charity partners that improve the lives of vulnerable women and the health of our planet.

Ultimately WFG exists to offer a creative solution to reduce waste in the fashion industry, to promote a circular economy and to raise much-needed funding and awareness to support vulnerable communities in need. We partner with designers, brands and individuals who represent substance and style and whose values support ethical, social and environmental responsibility.

We believe that empowering vulnerable women, alongside regenerative solutions for the earth are the two most effective investments that we can make as a community. That’s why we’ve partnered with three Australian charities that align with this vision, and that with our own experience, we felt personally connected to:

1- Women’s Community Shelters – protecting and supporting women and children facing domestic violence and homelessness
2 – Look Good Feel Better – supporting people living with cancer
3 – Greening Australia – environmental restoration and education. Carbon sequestration

Each of the three charities are all causes we felt personally connected to and wanted to do something about.

Why did you start WFG?

Pip and I met back in 2015 at a charity event and instantly became friends. We had both worked for not for profits and quickly realised we had a mutual interest in women’s empowerment, sustainability and social impact. We’d often catch up for a swim or coffee and talk about our experiences in the social sector, and the issues that systemically affect disadvantaged communities, both locally and across the world.

With Soph’s background in the fashion industry and the rising awareness around sustainability and waste, we started to see a way we could address the issue of waste in the fashion industry while supporting female empowerment and the environment. Ultimately we wanted to come up with an effective and ethical solution where we work with designers, brands and individuals who represent substance and style and whose values support ethical, social and environmental responsibility.

There are so many worthy charitable organisations out there, why are the three you work with particularly important to you?

Each of the three charities are all causes we felt personally connected to and wanted to do something about. Pip had worked for eight years as a social worker, primarily in youth homelessness, both in Sydney and in Kenya. She was aware of the needs and challenges confronting society’s most vulnerable and had seen first hand the devastating impact that domestic violence can have on families.

Soph had also worked with women escaping domestic violence and women and children living in refuges and shelters, bringing therapeutic yoga and meditation to these facilities. It was an eye-opening experience as she saw firsthand how underfunded these facilities often are, and how necessary funding is for them to be able to provide the support, care and rehabilitation that women need. Women’s Community Shelter’s was the first meeting we set up, and we’re proud to be supporting the work they do.

After working in youth homelessness, Pip moved on and worked for a youth cancer organisation, and learnt more about charities operating in that space. This, along with Soph’s personal experience with cancer, having been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in 2018, led to us both wanting to support LGFB.

The recent bushfires have been a massive wake up call and we felt moved, more than ever, to do something about the replanting and regeneration of our country. We wanted to support an organisation who was working to restore Australian for future generations, as it aligned with our personal and organisational environmental ethos. Greening Australia is not only leading a native seed and replanting program in the wake of the fires, but also has programs that aim to restore the reef, endangered animals, and rebuilt habitats all over the country.

You both have a history of charitable or not-for-profit work. What advice would you give to someone who wants to work for an NFP organisation but is scared about the job security/doesn’t know where to start?

Pip: Speak to people in the industry you’d like to work in. Find out about the founder and what drives them to champion the cause. It’s amazing to be able to work alongside a leader who has a clear vision for their organisation, the problem it’s solving, and sees how you can be a part of that.

Sophie: Also it’s good to get clear about your reasons for wanting to work in the NFP space. It’s possibly one of most professionally rewarding things you could ever do but also comes with its challenges. I’m a big believer that life is short…and as far as we know, we only get one shot at it… you have to do what you love. To wake up every morning and love going to work, knowing that somehow you’re positively impacting someone else’s life – beats a big paycheck any day of the week I think.

How did your latest music collection come about? Did the musos approach you or vice versa?

Since launching in June, we’ve predominantly worked with people and brands in the fashion industry. However we had a friend in the music industry contact us who said she wanted to be involved and had a few others she worked with also in this space who might like to donate special pieces from their shows. We reached out and from there, it quickly grew into a beautiful and seamless collaboration.

We feel there is a really exciting synergy between fashion and music – both being powerful and important mediums that encourage self-expression, self-empowerment, individuality, joy and creativity. It’s an exciting prospect of being able to utilise Worn for Good as a vehicle to encourage positive conversation and support meaningful change and collaboration across many creative industries -music being one of them.

If all the musicians in your latest drop got together for a ‘We Are The World’ style track, what song would they cover?

Mmm maybe Christine Anu, Party :)

You also work with well-known Aussie labels, is there a simmering consensus that the fashion industry needs to do more to help people/the planet?

It feels that across the fashion industry as a whole, there is a great knowledge that more needs to be done, and change needs to happen…Both from designer to consumer. It’s exciting for us to be a part of this conversation (and solution) and has been reassuring knowing that many brands are doing more now, than ever to examine their own impact and practices and are working to contribute to positive social and environmental change.

There is of course a long way to go, but with customers becoming increasingly informed and passionate about the choices they’re making, brands are beginning to meet these changing expectations and working within their own scope to minimise their negative impact.

What have you got planned for future drops? Is there ever any chance of us seeing a men’s collection on WFG?

Yes! We have grand plans for Worn for Good with so many exciting things coming up…expanding into men’s clothing, apparel and accessories is definitely one of them.

Our September, October & November collections feature pieces from some of our favourite Australian designers as well as contributors. Coming up in September is our ‘be your own European Holiday’ with handpicked pieces from the likes of Fella Swim, St Agni, Manning Cartell, Zulu & Zephyr, Yan Yan Chan, Kelly Davies-Green and more.

Early next year we’ll have some pieces for our man friends with male genes/jeans to be able to shop!

Love,
Sophie & Pip