Miskie London x Change’s 1 Life appeal – #giveabra campaign

Miskie London, a British ethical lingerie brand, has partnered with UK-based charity Change 1’s Life in order to help the women in need across Sub-Saharan Africa. Together, they initiated the #giveabra appeal to get people to donate their unwanted bras by sending them to Miskie London so that they can wash and give the bras away to the women in need in Angola and Namibia, two poverty-stricken countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Miskie London’s co-founder, Leslie McCulloch, explained why this campaign is important to them saying,  “We think it’s very sad how gender disparity still severely affects the quality of life for women in certain parts of the world. It is both a disservice to women and the countries they are from as they are missing out on the infinite potential women have. We feel strongly about helping women with limited rights in any way we can, which is why we decided to launch this campaign.”

This appeal is indeed very important as the adversity the women of SubSaharan Africa face is unparalleled. In Angola, one of the two countries that will benefit from the appeal, women live in accordance with patriarchal social norms where men are not expected to participate in household labour. That means that women are responsible for walking miles to fetch water, preparing food, washing clothes, cleaning the home and its surroundings, and any other household tasks. But it doesn’t end here. Men are only responsible for their own plot, therefore women must also attend to their own plot about 12-14 hours a day, all of this on top of household work.
In Namibia, the other country benefitting from the appeal, women are also marginalized while experiencing extreme poverty. Magdalena Sepúlveda, a United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said that: “In Namibia, poverty wears a woman’s face”.

Indeed, Namibian women have unequal access to basic rights, including healthcare, education, land and productive resources, and are disproportionately affected by unemployment. As it can be seen, issues such as gender inequality and poverty prevent women from affording and having access to basic needs, including bras. Moreover, not only will this campaign help vulnerable women who don’t have access to bras, it will also help the environment.

Miskie London, the initiator of this campaign, is also a brand passionate about sustainability. Giving a second life to bras is an effective sustainable practice as it prevents them from otherwise ending up in landfills and polluting the environment. In the UK alone, around 350,000 tonnes of clothes with an estimated value of £140 million go to landfill every year. And out of the 3.1kg of textile waste each Briton produces yearly, only 0.3kg are recycled and 0.4 kg are reused. Such a large amount of waste directly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately climate change.

Therefore this campaign is overall a great opportunity to help both people and the environment, and it couldn’t be easier to help. If you wish to help out, simply follow these quick and easy steps to donate your unwanted bras:
• Find some pre-loved bras that you no longer use (these can typically be found at the bottom of your draws) Add a nice thoughtful note to the recipient.
• Snap a picture of your package, upload the picture and use our campaign hashtag #giveabra encouraging others to get involved.
• Send the above to Miskie London’s address so the bras can be cleaned and ready to be shipped (details are below) Miskie London PO BOX 6714 COVENTRY CV6 9PQ Contact:

For more details about the appeal, visit:  https://www.miskielondon.com/pages/give-a-bra-appeal

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