A Community Threaded Together – Meet the Charity Clothing Flood Victims
- Words by Peppermint
As Mr Rogers is so often quoted as saying, in times of disaster “look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
In the wake of the devastation caused by the recent floods across the east coast of Australia, we have seen a great many inspiring acts of human kindness from individuals donating what they can and volunteering their time to companies, corporations and charities moving where they can to help those affected.
One such charity is Thread Together, which has set up emergency pop-up clothing hubs in Lismore, Milton and Indooroopilly to ensure each and every individual who is affected by the recent flooding can easily access clean clothing.
The facts are these – one in eight Australian adults and one in six Australian children do not have access to adequate essential clothing, while one third of new clothing goes from factory to landfill without ever being bought or worn.
Thread Together was founded in 2012 by Andie Halas, who had a novel idea to kill two birds with one stone and combat two persistent societal and environmental problems at the same time.
Saving new clothing from landfill – protecting the environment from the nonsensical whims of capitalism – Thread Together donates it for free to people in need – protecting vulnerable people from the nonsensical whims of capitalism – in an ingeniously ethical solution to keep clothes in circulation. After collecting end-of-line stock from fashion retailers around the country, the clothes are sorted by volunteers in order to be distributed to people in need through their national network of charities as well as their mobile wardrobe vans, pop-up clothing hubs and online wardrobe services.
READ MORE – We Will Rebuild: Meaningful Ways You Can Help Those Affected by the Floods
Clothing is an oft-overlook essential human need. Not only do people deserve to be clean and warm in good quality clothing, they should also have the dignity of liking their clothes, having an element of choice and agency over their wardrobe. The self-worth, confidence and happiness that fashion can provide should not be limited to those who can afford it and restricted from those who cannot.
Since 2012, Thread Together has clothed over 500,000 individuals with wardrobes consisting of 20–35 items, depending on the circumstances of the individual, and diverted thousands of tonnes of new fashion from landfill. Its partnerships have grown to include over 700 fashion partners – including St Agni, Dharma Bums and Luna & Sun – and over 500 charities and social service agencies nationwide.
Recognised as a first responder to natural disasters in 2020, Thread Together helps those affected by disaster or tragedy as well as Indigenous communities, vulnerable aged individuals, those who are financially disadvantaged, marginalised communities, new arrivals to the country seeking refuge, people experiencing homelessness, at-risk youth, survivors of domestic violence, people returning to the community from incarceration, long term unemployed, people with physical or intellectual disabilities or those experiencing mental health crises, and rural, regional and remote communities.
Anyone interested in volunteering, partnering with or partaking of the services offered by Thread Together can find more information on its website.
photos VIA FACEBOOK
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
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🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
