TWICE COMMERCE’s Post

Want to throw away your old clothes? Read this first! Of the 100 billion textiles produced each year, approximately 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. If the trend continues, the number of fast fashion waste is expected to go up to 134 million tonnes a year, by 2030. But did you know recycling old clothes can reduce this trend and make a real difference for the planet and people? Instead of tossing your once favorite clothes, think about donating them to those in need or startups like Africa Collect Textiles which will give them a new life and keep it out of landfills and rivers. This saves resources and creates local jobs too. Recycling goes way beyond just making a fashion statement these days - it's about building a sustainable future. #sustainability #fastfashion #socialbusiness #africa

We understand the crucial role women waste pickers play in helping to grow the #CircularEconomy ♻️ So, when we were asked by asked to help women working with African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) and the South African Waste Pickers Association by sponsoring them with reusable sanitary pads, we were only honoured to play our part. The 150 Komani* reusable pads we handed out to women and girls in Khayelitsha and Macassar, in the #WesternCape, are a healthy, sustainable alternative to disposable pads that mostly end up in landfill ✅ The donation acknowledges the vital role that women waste pickers play in the broader waste collection landscape. * 𝘒𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/d7Y8VDxJ #CollectSortRecycle #Recycle #CircularEconomy #Sustainability

Dipisha Bhujel shares the story of how and why she set up Project Sparśa – a women-led not-for-profit company that makes compostable sanitary pads from banana plants and uses its revenue to better educate young Nepalese women about their bodies and menstruation. "In Nepal, the annual sale of approximately 127 million sanitary items results in the generation of 120 tonnes of plastic waste, primarily from menstrual products, especially pads. This fact was a driver behind my eagerness to find a solution that addressed the issues of both period poverty and plastic pollution in a sustainable way. In 2020, the seed of a new project was planted at NIDISI, a non-profit organisation developing innovative and scalable solutions to address social and environmental issues in Nepal. The idea was to create a social enterprise in Nepal that produces and sells compostable menstrual pads made from banana plants while using the profits for educational campaigns on menstrual health." Three years and 10 months later, our journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. We’ve developed three prototypes, registered Sparśa as a women-led non-profit company in Nepal, established partnerships with local banana farmers and the government, designed fibre production machines, set up a banana fibre production factory, and conducted extensive research on menstrual practices in Nepal. Our awareness campaigns on menstrual health and hygiene have reached over 8,000 people, and the construction of our pad factory is under way. However, this journey hasn’t been without challenges. Working on a stigmatised topic like menstruation, especially as a young woman from an Indigenous community, presented its own set of bureaucratic and complex hurdles. The struggle, though, has been met with unwavering support. Winning the Iris Prize has provided a significant boost to our motivation. The Iris Project was set up in memory of Iris Goldsmith, who died in a tragic accident in 2019 at the age of 15. In the form of a global, annual award, The Iris Prize exists to enable young people all over the world to protect and restore Nature. Visit our website now to read the full article for free > https://lnkd.in/ebtF4Nnw #InspireInclusion #InternationalWomensDay #Voice #Truth #Change #Compostable #Biodegradable #Sustainable #Menstruation #Education #SanitaryPads #PeriodPoverty #PlasticFree #EnvironmentallyFriendly

Today, on Global Recycling Day, we’re honouring the amazing work of women waste collectors in Côte d'Ivoire, who are playing a vital role in UNICEF’s “From Plastic Bricks to Classrooms” programme.   With support from the MSC Foundation, close to 620,000 kg of recycled plastic waste collected by these devoted women have been transformed into durable bricks used to build 112 modern classrooms in Côte d'Ivoire. These classrooms have brought quality education to 5,600 children, reduced the accumulation of plastic waste, and created job opportunities for more than 200 women waste collectors. Learn more about the programme’s triple-win solutions from Benguita Bengue an MSC Foundation representative who visited Côte d'Ivoire last December 👇   It’s initiatives like “From Plastic Bricks to Classrooms” in Côte d'Ivoire that give us hope – the kind of hope that is earned through hard work and *really* innovative ideas for a better planet. UNICEF Schweiz und Liechtenstein UNICEF Côte d'Ivoire #MSC #MSCFoundation #MSCGroup #UNICEF #Partnership #GlobalRecyclingDay #EnvironmentalConservation

Did you know that Australia is the second largest textile consumer in the world behind the US? The average Australian now consumes 56 items of new clothing every year. That’s why each year Artefact coordinates a mass clothing donation to Vinnies. Here we see Jonny Love, who heads-up our Equality and Justice Purpose Team, dropping off some of the items in Glebe. This simple action helped our team consider both the cycle of textile consumer waste; along with how important it is to help bridge the equity gap in Australia and around the world. This is something we all can do more of. Read the review of textile waste management in Australia at https://lnkd.in/gq-f9sYn St Vincent de Paul Society NSW

DO YOU OR YOUR ORGANISATION WANT TO DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL TO TACKLE PLASTIC WASTE AND CREATE JOBS? If so read on…(and dig into those CSR and ESG budgets). #circulareconomy #plasticfree #sustainability

A recent opinion piece in the Washington Post headlined, “Donate clothes? You’re contributing to Africa’s ‘mitumba’ problem,” fueled a narrative that was misleading and harmful to nonprofits who use donated goods to advance circularity and provide essential human services to millions of people. In my May 31 letter to the editor, I objected to the author’s overgeneralization and noted such claims “could harm people who rely on those donations for jobs, affordable clothing and human services.” I also explained that “At Goodwill, the value of every donation sold stays in communities to support people in need with essential human services such as career counseling, skills training, and job placement support. Last year, those donations helped 1.7 million people in need. Goodwill also extended the useful life of over 4.3 billion pounds of donated goods last year.” Other letters responding to the opinion article shed light on the value of donated goods in foreign countries which leads to job creation, the availability of affordable clothes, and saves resources by avoiding textile production. The global community needs to understand that many countries do not have adequate waste systems in place, which means some unsold goods may not be handled properly, and support broad efforts to expand textile recycling. There are important opportunities to advance circularity worldwide. However, we must make sure to continue the good work of helping people as those issues are addressed. Donating used items to nonprofits keeps them in circulation and funds vital social services. https://lnkd.in/gmS-n3J2

The latest briefing from the European Environment Agency highlights that in 2020, the EU generated an average of 16 kg of textile waste per person. Shockingly, only about 4.4 kg of this waste was collected separately for reuse and recycling, while the remaining amount ended up in mixed household waste. 🤯 Did you know that many of these discarded textiles are still in excellent condition and could be easily reused while offering significant environmental and social benefits❓ 🌟 Our member social enterprises have been pivotal in addressing this issue. Through receiving donations, they prevented 52,000 tonnes of textiles from being prematurely destroyed in 2022, creating between 20-35 local and inclusive jobs for vulnerable individuals for every 1,000 tonnes collected. Read our Member Impact 2022 to find out more about the positive social & circular impact of our wider membership base 👇 #secondhandfirst #socialandcircular #textilewaste #reuse #socialenterprises

**Partner with Eco Brixs** 🙌 Are you an organisation looking for new charitable partners in the new financial year (or even one that’s looking to spend its ESG budget before this year ends!?) We’re currently looking for new corporate partners to support our work in Uganda as we aim to tackle the country’s huge plastic problem and high unemployment rate. To date, using our circular model, we’ve recycled over 900 tonnes of plastic waste whilst creating green jobs for over 3000 marginalised people. *And* using our measurable impact system, we’re able to show how every $/£/€ we've received has made a difference to the communities we work with! We’re now looking for supporters to help us expand our replicable recycling model across Uganda to help more people and clean up more plastic waste ♻️ Please drop us an email at info@ecobrixs.org or message us on Linkedin if you’d be interested in working with us and would like to know more! #circulareconomy #climateaction #climatecrisis #uganda #Sustainablefuture #Circularity #beatplasticpollution #Sustainability #Education #Environment #inclusion #circulareconomy #disability #uganda #Plasticpollution #recycledplastic #recycledproducts #closedloop #BusinessForGood #creatingimpact  #environmentalimpact #economicimpact #socialimpact #buyingwaste #recyclingwaste #addingvalue #esg #esgstrategy #esginvesting #esgreporting #corporatesocialresponsibility #workwithus

One important thing to note about reusable Sanitary Pads is "Properly caring for it." While we are rooting for this sustainable menstrual product, efforts should also be made to make sure that people who menstruate that use it make conscious efforts to care for it. During our just concluded "Leveraging Innovation in New Communities" (LINC) Grant Project in Manhean, Ghana, where 20 women were trained to start up Reusable Sanitary Pads business, they were also taught to be agents of change in their Community by not only sewing and selling their reusable Pads but also making sure that the young girls they sell to also learn how to hygienically care for them. One of such ways is to help them normalise Period so it can boost their self-esteem to understand that whenever possible, after washing their reusable Pads, they should always put them in the sun to dry and shun Shame and stigma. #LINCGrant #womenempowement #ReusableSanitaryPadsTraining #ManheanGhana #MWFat10 #MWFAlumniCollaboration