Banjo & Matilda, a premium fashion lifestyle brand, has announced its annual Australian Sweater Exchange with intentions to roll the initiative out on a global scale. Info about the exchange can be found at www.thesweaterexchange.com.
The Sweater Exchange, established in 2011 and founded by Banjo & Matilda Co-Founders Belynda & Ben Macpherson, helps homeless and displaced women and children across Australia through the re-distribution of their sweaters during winter months. The initiative has helped thousands since its inception.
The Sweater Exchange started with after Co-Founder and Creative Director Belynda Macpherson read an article that every night across Australia over 50,000 women, many with children, are homeless. The impact on her was profound. It was at this point where the idea of providing luxury sweaters and knitwear for those more fortunate than these displaced and homeless women was conceived. Belynda could see how her business could make a positive difference in the lives of these people.
Belynda Macpherson notes, “We launched the Sweater Exchange in 2011 wanting to fuse philanthropy and fashion in a benevolent way. I wanted to make the initiative more inclusive than most charity projects however by having a call-to-action that didn’t involve donating money. The idea of donating your pre-loved sweaters – or literally the clothes off your back – resonated with our brand and also our community at large. Anyone able to afford a new sweater, would have to have an older one in their cupboard, thus the charity was born. It has been so successful to date, I think because no exchange of money is involved and it’s a genuine kindness that is the motivating factor, and we make it easy by providing a $50 gift voucher to spend in our online store. We plan to roll it out in other major cities like New York, London and Germany over the coming years.”
Since its beginning, The Sweater Exchange has been supported by many who are passionate about the cause and the initiative that addresses it. Celebrities such as Elle Macpherson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Richie and Miranda Kerr and others have donated to the exchange and helped promote the initiative over the years.
Banjo & Matilda, Inc. is a rising Australian premium lifestyle brand, best known as a designer, producer and marketer of premium contemporary woman’s knitwear. Inspired by the iconic Bondi Beach surroundings of its creative studios, Banjo& Matilda launched its first knitwear collection in 2008.
For more information on the company, visit www.banjoandmatilda.com
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