MANILA, Philippines — Grassroots non-profit Odd Garage Manila promotes sustainable fashion and assists in funding various causes through donations earned from thrift events.
The non-profit gathers small time vintage and thrift shops as well as independent sellers and puts up for sale pre-loved items. A portion of these sales are given to different partner local foundations.
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On top of this, Odd Garage Manila also collects clothing donations for Segunda Mana, which has so far reached a thousand pieces of clothing donated.
Jessica Ordonez, who co-founded the non-profit with Kari Mandhyan, shares with Philstar.com that her interest in environmental sustainability began in college and was further fanned when she worked with the World Wide Fund for Nature.
"I saw thrifting as a way to bridge the gap between using fashion as a means of expression and addressing the global issue of clothing waste — by removing the stigma associated with second-hand clothing portrayed as a negative economic gap," said Ordonez.
She added that the efforts of Odd Garage Manila are personally important because she sees self-expression can build confience and create a sense of identity, "I believe everyone should have a sustainable, affordable way to do this without judgment."
The non-profit have recently been using proceeds from past events for local foundations focusing on children's education and young women's health.
Odd Garage Manila has helped fund public school students' tuition and buying girls' sanitary products through the Binhi English Literacy Foundation and I Support the Girls Manila.
Beyond assisting people in need, Ordonez sees the non-profit as an opportunity for thrift customers to meet fashion-lovers of all economic backgrounds.
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