Today we’d like to introduce you to Elaine Birks-Mitchell.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
During my over 25-year career in the corporate world in information technology, I always knew that it would not be my end game. I needed to figure out how I was going to make a living from my giving and step into my calling. I watched my parents give so much of themselves to their community as I grew up, and I wanted to figure out how I was going to leave that same legacy. My passion for giving back to women and girls escaping domestic violence and human trafficking gave me the motivation and drive to figure out how I could support them in a meaningful way. Talking with organizations around the country, I found out that bras were something that was not being donated but was in great demand. As part of my research, I learned that the policy of many retailers regarding the disposal of overstock and returns is landfill, burn or cut. The World Economic Forum estimates that over 11 million pounds of underwear go to our landfills every day. That is unacceptable. As a Social Entrepreneur, I saw a problem and opportunity and decided not to wait for someone else to solve it, so I used entrepreneurial principles to create The Bra Recyclers.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The textile recycling industry was very all new to me. It’s not one of those industries that you can just google to find out how to get into it. There was a steep learning curve to figure out our pricing strategy and finding good partners. The textile recycling industry is a very labor-intensive industry so finding staffing was difficult. I joined recycling associations, networked, got on a board, and tried to learn as much as possible on my own. Some of the challenges I faced were:
-Textile recycling industry is a male-dominated industry that is primarily made up of families that have been in the industry for generations. So, it is tough to break in and find information on how to get the business going
-Peers in the textile recycling industry thought what we were doing wouldn’t work because we were trying to create new norms in terms of transparency and focusing on educating the consumer about our industry. Transparency is something that consumers are demanding.
-The Social entrepreneur model was not that well known when we started, so we had people tell us that it would never take off here in the US
-One of the best comments was ‘Why am I forcing bras on girls and women in Africa because it is a western philosophy and bras are evil.’ I always used these opportunities to educate people that for many women and girls in this world underwear is a luxury and sometimes a necessity if they want to go to school or even play sports.
-One of our biggest challenges is being a social enterprise and attracting larger retailers who are used to only dealing with nonprofit organizations. We are mitigating this challenge with the launch of our nonprofit arm, The Undie Chest.
– It’s Unethical to make a profit while doing good. Which is a mindset that we need to change and encourage more businesses to integrate doing good into their business practices because our customers want this from us.
– According to Forbes, 88% of consumers will be more loyal to a business that takes action on social and environmental issues. So, more businesses will have to adopt transparency and ‘doing good’ into their models because their customers will demand it.
– That is why it is important to build transparency and community give-back strategies into your culture
As you know, we’re big fans of The Bra Recyclers. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Bra Recyclers, established in 2008, is a social enterprise clothing recycling company specializing in the reuse and recycling of preloved and new bras and new underwear. We donate underwear to nonprofits around the world that are providing life skills and restoring dignity to families in need. We implement scalable recycling and rewards programs for retailers and distributors who are trying to reduce their carbon footprint and support our planet and the people who live on it.
Underwear is one of the most requested items for families in need, and retailers are challenged with how to handle surplus inventory of underwear responsibly from customer returns. The World Economic Forum estimates around 11 million lbs. of underwear a day goes to our landfills.’ Many of these items are from returns and overstock.
As a social enterprise, connecting with the community is integrated into our mission and daily operations. We have over 120 nonprofit organizations that have signed up with us to receive donations of underwear for their program participants. We have donated over 4 million bras and underwear to these nonprofits around the world. We also partner with nonprofit organizations to host bra-fitting events and educate ladies on how to find the proper fitting bra. Our newest program is our Everyone Deserves Underwear (E.D.U.) which will work with School Nurses to get underwear to students in public schools in the Phoenix area. This program will be offered through our new nonprofit arm. We are also excited that we will start offering underwear to men and boys.
We have drop-off locations around the country to make it convenient for individuals to recycle their preloved bras and new underwear. They can find drop-off locations on our website. (brarecycling.com)
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I can say that what makes me happy is being able to make a living from my giving and follow in the footsteps of my dad and mom to give back to our planet and the people who live on it. God has a plan for each of us and I am so thankful that I found my calling. I am also thankful that my husband Johnny is my biggest supporter and partner in my journey.
I am so proud to be a social enterprise and hopefully be a role model for others who want to do good and still be a for-profit business. I am proud of the fact that I stuck with it and muted the naysayers who said it is not ethical to do good and make money. I have used these opportunities to re-educate and create awareness that it cost money to do good, and as a for-profit enterprise, I can give back just as much, if not more, than a nonprofit.
We are also proud to be aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). For companies that want to partner with us and have struggled to figure out how they can align with the SDGs, we can assist them with that. One of the 5 SDGs we are proud to align with is SDG 10, Reduce Inequalities. This goal relates to promoting social and economic inclusion for all. As part of our mission, it is important that we are creating job opportunities for those with disabilities who cannot work in a ‘normal’ work environment. We partner with 2 local organizations that help individuals who challenged to find jobs because of their disabilities.
We are also aligned with the following SDGs: SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG:6 Clean Water, and Sanitation, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
There have been so many amazing stories on my social entrepreneur journey. The one that stands out for me is being able to respond to the need of a teacher desperately trying to help one of her students who was being teased and bullied because of her large breast size for a 6th grader. The girl wanted to cut her breast off. I didn’t hesitate to assist, and luckily, I had several 44G bras on hand. I also thought that if the student didn’t have the appropriate bra, then she probably needed underwear. So, I included 12 pairs of underwear in the box. The student received the box and was overjoyed. She thought she could only pick one item out of the box. She was so excited to know she could keep all the items and said, ‘it felt like Christmas.’ The next day the teacher saw the student walking in the hallway, and she had her head held high and a big smile on her face.
If something as simple as a bra can have that kind of impact, then I have truly found my calling in life.
We are also excited to announce the launch of our nonprofit arm, The Undie Chest. Our goal is to be able to support the entire family. We will now provide men’s and boy’s underwear in addition to the women’s and girls’ underwear we already provide.
But even more exciting is we are piloting a program in the Phoenix area, and we will team up with the Dept of Education School Nurses and Health Services to get underwear into our schools. This is another one of those issues that is not talked about, but it is real, and it is not being addressed because of lack of funding or resources that many of the Title 1 schools have. There are over 1.5 million students that experience some form of homeless that are attending school during a school year
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brarecycling.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrarecyclers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BraRecycling/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brarecycling
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdRzCpHfdMk7Ak3F2yXm32Q
