Traid

Since 2009, we've partnered with Pesticide Action Network UK and OBEPAB to grow Benin's organic cotton sector. The project began by supporting just a few hundred farmers and has since expanded over the past fifteen years, where we are now training 9,000 farmers to achieve organic certification, making this West Africa's biggest organic cotton project!⁠ ⁠ We are excited to continue supporting this good work and this year we have committed £336,332 of funding to improve the soil quality, health and income for thousands of organic cotton farmers in Benin to move towards an organic future. 🌱⁠ ⁠ Find out more about this project: https://lnkd.in/edXttJvf ⁠ 📸⁠ ⁠ 1: Claver, an organic cotton farmer in Benin. Image courtesy of Cotton Diaries, photographed by Gbèmèho Elisé Fanou. ⁠ 2: Pascal, grinding maize to create food spray, a natural way to keep crop pests under control. Image courtesy of Cotton Diaries, photographed by Gbèmèho Elisé Fanou.⁠ ⁠ 3: A farmer focus group in Benin. Image courtesy of Cotton Diaries.⁠ ⁠ 4: Alougba, an organic cotton farmer in Benin. Image courtesy of Cotton Diaries, photographed by Gbèmèho Elisé Fanou. ⁠ ⁠ #Traid #GoodWork #OrganicCotton⁠

Traid's latest newsletter it out. Traid Chief Executive Maria Chenoweth is awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The Open University, find out more about Traid Treasures and get involved with autumn workshop programme with Colechi and CQ Studio. Read all about it 👉️bit.ly/4f5qsCd #TraidNews #SecondhandSatisfaction

We are delighted to announce that Traid Chief Executive Maria Chenoweth has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The Open University in recognition of her exceptional contributions to teaching and research in the fields of sustainability and gender equality. As a pioneer of both the charity and retail sectors, Maria has dedicated her career to championing the social and environmental benefits of second-hand fashion. Maria first stepped into the world of charity retail as a volunteer at Oxfam and later joined the Traid team as Head of Retail in 1999 and four years later, in 2003, was appointed as Traid’s Chief Executive. Since then Maria has continued to innovate within the charity retail sector by co-founding the UK's first multi-charity shop Charity Super.Mkt to make second-hand fashion more accessible by positioning the retail concept in mainstream spaces and places. After completing her MBA with the The Open University in 2019, Maria has continued to be an active member of the OU's community, contributing to the teaching and research at The Open University Business School through her work as a Fellow. We'd like to share our congratulations to Maria for this incredible achievement! 📸 Traid Chief Executive, Maria Chenoweth (left) and Executive Dean of The Open University's Faculty of Business and Law, Professor Mark Durkin (right).

In September we received over 250,000 garment donations in our Closet Clear-out Challenge, with the support of our amazing community, celebrities and partners. Now we are excited to introduce Traid Treasures, our latest and best drop to date, where our customers can enjoy the thrill of the find and shop the pieces passed on to the Closet Clear-out Challenge across all twelve of our stores! From Dior to Prada, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Louboutin and more, our campaign supporters passed on treasures from their wardrobes. Alongside discovering everyday essentials and designer delights in-store, we are giving everyone the chance to bid on a unique celebrity item in our silent auction. All funds raised across our stores and in our auction will support our global projects changing fashion for the better, from supporting rights for garment workers and providing education for their children to training for cotton farmers to grow pesticide-free and organic crops. Find out more about Traid Treasures: https://lnkd.in/ejEY6c_G #TraidTreasures #SecondhandSatisfaction

It's World Cotton Day! Today we're celebrating our long-term international cotton projects in Ethiopia and Benin. Together with our charity project partners PAN UK, PAN Ethiopia and OBEPAB we have trained over 14,000 farmers to grow pesticide-free and organic, improving the health and livelihoods of the farmers, their families and communities. Take a look at our projects in action! 📸 Obite Ongo (left) and Mereste Getachew (right) from the Ugayo Women’s Cotton Spinning Association in Ethiopia, hand spinning harvested and cleaned cotton fibres into yarn. A group of farmers in Ethiopia learning pesticide-free farming methods at the Farmers Field School. Pascal, a farmer in Benin grinding maize to create food spray, a natural tool to keep crop pests under control. Image courtesy of Cotton Diaries photographed by Gbèmèho Elisé Fanou.⁠ Atalo Belay, the Program Coordinator at PAN-Ethiopia, monitoring pest numbers in a cotton field. Find out more about these projects: https://lnkd.in/eiUvCQ7Z #GoodWork #Traid Pesticide Action Network UK

That's a wrap on our Closet Clear-out Challenge! In September we challenged the public to clear out their closets to join us in changing fashion for the better. Supported by our community, partners and celebrities including Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sharon Horgan, Sabrina Grant, Jim and Nancy Moir, Patrick Grant Grant, Erin O’Connor, Gilles Peterson, Michelle Dockery and Caryn Franklin, we smashed our 250,000 donation target, receiving just under 300,000 items in total! What's next? This October, you’ll be able to see our campaign results come to life across all Traid stores, where our customers will be able find and shop all the incredible items donated from our generous celebrity supporters and community. Stay tuned for more details. #Traid #ClosetClearOut #PickClickCollect

"Clearing out your closet is really important for the environment and for charities as every year in the UK we throw in the rubbish 1 billion garments." Traid Chief Executive Maria Chenoweth, visited our London warehouse to take a look at all of the incredible donations passed on by our celebrity supporters and you, our community. So far you've donated a whopping 200,000 garments to our Closet Clear-out Challenge, saving 566 tonnes CO2 and 106,000 m3 of water! All your donations will help fund our global projects supporting garment workers, their families, and communities. This September we're on a mission to reach our target of 250,000 donations and there's still time to join the challenge. All you have to do is Pick - Click - Collect. Pick your clothes, click to donate, and let Traid collect. Donate to Traid: https://lnkd.in/erR8bJQs Let’s transform fashion for the better, one wardrobe at a time! #Traid #ClosetClearOut #PickClickCollect #SecondhandSeptember

Do you want to be part of the Traid team? We’re on the lookout for a great Gift Aid Manager to join our mission to change fashion for the better. Find out more about and apply: https://lnkd.in/eKvRPEC4 #TeamTraid #SecondhandSatisfaction

A great segment on Thursday's This Morning ITV by Jen Graham Charity Shop Girl, showing you how to wear and shop the trends from pieces found in the charity shop, styling a white blouse from Traid.  Thank you Jen Graham Charity Shop Girl for mentioning our Closet Clear-out Challenge! Watch the full segment here: https://lnkd.in/ekAMijmj #Traid #ThisMorning #ClosetClearOut #PickClickCollect #SeconhandSeptember Jenny Houghton

Traid Chief Executive Maria Chenoweth sat down with to Sebastian Volney on the Sustainable Fashion Wingman Podcast to share Traid's journey and impact over the past 25 years.   Today, we continue our mission to change fashion for the better by collecting, curating and selling second-hand clothes to give fashion a new lease of life and raise vital funds for our global projects supporting organic cotton farmers, garment workers and their families. We advocate for a better fashion industry – one where your clothes look good and do good. Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/emSjbb-k