Here’s the thing about donating your old clothes: It seems like a great idea, because it is.
But if you’re anything like me, those clothes get put into bags and boxes, and never quite make it past the spare room… or, if they’re lucky, they travel as far as the car boot only to be forgotten every time you drive anywhere.
As I write this, I’m casually side-eyeing several reusable supermarket bags overflowing with clothes, shoes, jewellery, bags and more that I’ve been slowly adding to for the past (ahem) several years, with every intention of taking them to the local donation drop point… and yet never doing it.
But Australian Red Cross and Uber have teamed up to make donating our preloved clothes so easy, frankly, it’d be harder NOT to do it!
On October 18, you can book an Uber Courier, completely free, to pick up good-quality clothing straight from our doorstep and deliver it to Australian Red Cross.
All we have to do is bag up the goods (tick!), book the Uber, and those neglected clothes will be whisked away to a brand new home.
Aussies are keen to donate.
Clearly, this initiative – now in its seventh year – is needed. New research from Uber and Australian Red Cross reveals Aussies are sitting on $25 billion in unworn clothes – big yikes. That’s 231 million garments just hanging around, gathering dust, doing nobody any favours.
The research also found Aussies actually want to donate more – two thirds of respondents said they’d give more if it were easier (and yep, same). Some of us are giving it a red-hot go, but confusion and time pressure have led to more than a third (35%) admitting to leaving clothes outside an op shop after hours, despite knowing they might be thrown away and end up in landfill.
So having Uber come to your house, grab your preloved bits and bobs and deliver them safe and sound? That’s a genius move.
How to donate your preloved clothes.
On Saturday, October 18, between 10am and 4pm Uber Courier is offering free deliveries to Australian Red Cross Shop drop-off locations across Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney – making it easier than ever to donate quality pre-loved clothing to support those in need.
Just follow these simple steps:
- Open the Uber or Uber Eats app.
- Tap the Red Cross Clothing Drive icon. You should see ‘Red Cross Clothing Drive’ set as the drop off spot
- If you’re in an eligible city, the Red Cross Clothing Drive promotion should automatically apply, so check that the trip is showing as a $0 amount.
- Confirm!
Keep an eye on the app and meet the delivery person picking up your donation at the door, or kerbside if you can.
