The Vintage Side of Discarded Denim

Imagine, if one day you go back to your parents’ house and decide to help them with their cleaning. You open a dusty old trunk and you find a bunch of denim clothing inside. Here they are, your father’s bell-bottoms jeans from the 80’s; and this hippy denim vest that your mother used to wear that summer of 1974 in Ibiza! They are very cool and in wearable condition, but unfortunately neither of these items fit you. What a pity…

You think of the socially responsible option so you decide to donate them to your favorite charity. Unfortunately, it is very common that thrift stores and charities only put half of the donated items for sale on the shop floor, so your donation doesn’t end up there. You might think then that it was a waste of time and money, not to mention the damage to the environment if it ends up in the landfill. Lucky us, this excess of donations won’t end up there; they will be blended with the shelf pulls to make mixed rags. There are organizations, like Beyond Retro, which go through these rags, picking the vintage items. The discarded “old” apparel has suddenly become valuable “vintage” treasures that will be reintroduced into the retail stream, where they will find new life serving new customers.

About 2% of mixed rags is vintage clothing, and denim vintage is in high demand. So next time you donate any denim items from the 1920’s to the 1990’s, or when these items go into your bales of mixed rags, don’t worry about your treasures, you know there is still a stylish life waiting for them.

Supporting your Favorite Charity through Sponsoring

Do you have a favorite charity that you do business with all year long? Would you like to do more to support it but don’t know how? Become a sponsor!

Sponsoring a charity is a great way to help an organization you deal with. Not only you will provide funds to support their programs, but also you will enhance the relationship between both organizations.

For example, if you are planning on exhibiting at a conference organized by your counterpart, go one step forward and sponsor the event. There are various ways to become a sponsor; you can sponsor meals (breakfast or lunch); the event Wi-Fi service; the hotel room keys; and many more.

Why not step it up an extra level and become an annual sponsor? Some organizations offer sponsoring packages, which cover several events that they organize throughout the year. For example, Bank & Vogue is a proud Bronze Sponsor to Goodwill Industries, which gives us the opportunity to stay close to the organization and feel part of its vision and purpose all year long.

Let’s make 2019 the year of sponsoring your favorite charity organization!