Collaboration between our brand and retailer partners creates a circular flow of material and energy.

For brands, increased demand for accountability and transparency in response to sustainability pressures has pushed many to integrate recirculation. As brands seek to incorporate these social and environmental strategies, we have been fortunate to receive donated end-of-season, seconds, samples and deadstock that we move on through our pop-ups and resale platform, which funds our ongoing community work. Koha Apparel is a registered non-profit organisation. All donations are tax-deductible.

We believe keeping clothing out of landfill is one response available to reducing climate emissions. Popularising re-use culture keeps clothing in permanent rotation through people and encourages others to engage in systems change. While we often receive individual donations, we have found that group collections through places of work, fitness studios and other similar spaces remain more practical, allowing for a single pick-up and drop off, reducing resource input from our team.

Clothing donations from both individuals and brands provide a continuous supply for community pop-ups and requests from a network of charities supporting our most vulnerable community members. To date, grants and the generosity of crowdfunding campaigns have enabled us to expand beyond Auckland to Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Whangārei, hosting 13 pop-ups each month, providing funds for transportation and storage facilities.

In addition to our pop-ups, we work with several charity agencies across Aotearoa to place clean clothing for those in need. When the Pandemic lockdown measures were put in place, particularly in Auckland, we were able to assist an ever-increasing number of people through a network of support groups, accommodation houses and more established charities.