Common will be concluding its work in Aotearoa this December

Common was founded in January 2019 and since then we have dressed 26,000 people, representing $2.9 million in clothing grants that the Ministry of Social Development has not had to spend.

Concluding our work was a difficult decision and it has taken a lot of time to comprehend what this means for our people, for those we dressed over the last 7 years, and for all of those we were yet to serve.

Thank you to every individual who resonated with and supported our work. I know we have changed the way people think about clothing and we have educated people involved in our work on the power of clothing.

However, sadly the role of clothing, and the service we provide remains undervalued in this country. This has meant that subsequent lack of funding and industry participation has made ongoing operations unsustainable.

I am forever grateful it was me and Trace. I know this work has been deeply meaningful for us both, but also deeply necessary. Our collective experience, knowledge and skills have demonstrated that it is possible to prioritise people and Mother Earth—because we exclusively utilise secondhand and deadstock, and we’re shifting resources from those with excess. Resources are not infinite. We recirculated 63,894 garments, keeping this resource out of landfills which equates to 34 tonnes of CO₂e kept out of the atmosphere.

We’ve reshaped people's thinking, and created something that was not being done here before. And we did this on not a lot of money. 

Last year we dressed 8,492 people on $136,000. 

What we built cannot be measured by funding. The impact is in our report, on people's backs and in people's wardrobes.

We have been welcomed into community centres, maraes, car parks, churches, probation offices, prisons, hospitals, secure refuge houses, restaurants, court rooms, respites centres, emergency and transitional housing spaces and community events over the years. With one agenda, to dress people with dignity.

I wish this closure announcement was because communities far and wide no longer need our service. Over the years people have asked me what the goal is, and my answer has always been consistent. The goal is to not have to exist anymore, that people could access what they needed and this was not dependent on charitable services.

As we announce the conclusion of our services, we are committed to recirculating the resources to our partners, and to those we have not yet dressed. We are in discussion around partnering with schools to allow young people to access clothing.

Whilst Common concludes here, our values, commitment, and determination for this work remains.  

We will continue fulfilling partner clothing requests through to December 5th or until stock is exhausted. 

It's what we all have in Common.

Clothing.

Love Charli