Well Cloth’d provides customized packages to individuals in need, and families can shop for up to three bags worth of donated clothing at community pop-up boutiques. (Photo: Well Cloth’d)
By Tiasia Saunders
Maya Shelton, director of partnerships, left, with Well Cloth’d co-founders Jenne Richardson and Savahleetah McGee. (Photo: Well Cloth’d)
Well Cloth’d, a Brooklyn-based non-profit, finds new homes for the abundance of clothing, shoes and other belongings that often go unused or forgotten in closets.
“Our nonprofit serves two purposes: to redistribute items that families and individuals need and make sure people have clothing that is fairly new to them and picked up specifically for them,” said Jenne Richardson, who co-founded Well Cloth’d with her sister, Marien, and Savahleetah McGee.
“The other side of it is thinking about the sustainability of the fashion industry and just the amount of waste that goes into fast fashion or just the sheer amount of clothing that we all tend to have,” Richardson added. Well Cloth’d estimates that it redirects 300 pounds of clothing quarterly to new owners that would otherwise end up in landfills.
The nonprofit has helped hundreds of people have decent clothes and shoes that fit properly and are stain-free. Well Cloth’d delivers individualized packages across New York and hosts multiple community pop-up shops throughout the year.
“We take over an event space and create a boutique for donated items where families can come and shop for up to three bags worth of stuff,” Richardson explained. “We have people that have come back time and time again.”
The nonprofit is hoping to launch a fashion program to fix and alter items that can not be redistributed to push out more items for the public. In the future, it would like to open a physical store location to offer a custom shopping experience.
Tiasia Saunders is a writer for FierceforBlackWomen.com.
