South Africa’s high unemployment rate makes finding a job hard. You’re lucky just to land an interview and, if you do, you must look the part to impress your potential employers.
But what happens when you don’t have formal clothes? Well, that’s where H&M South Africa comes in.
The retailer has announced the launch of its “Suitably Dressed” initiative, a nationwide workwear donation drive to equip young job seekers in need with interview-ready attire.
For this campaign, the retailer has partnered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, Clothes to Good and Miles Kubheka.
“At H&M, we want to enable our customers to look good, feel good and do good, and the ‘Suitably Dressed’ campaign perfectly embodies this philosophy.
“By leveraging pre-loved fashion as a valuable resource, we can collectively drive positive change, empower job seekers and transform lives,” says Caroline Nelson, H&M South Africa’s country manager.
After people have donated their clothes to H&M stores, people from Clothes to Good will collect and sort them before handing them to Harambee.
People from Harambee will then distribute them to job seekers who have been called for interviews.
“I am excited about this collaboration with H&M through ‘Suitably Dressed’ as it expands on Harambee’s existing SmartWorks project, which seeks to enable young job seekers to approach their initial interviews and jobs with newfound confidence.
“Launched eight years ago, the initiative has supported countless youth with gently worn work attire, thanks to the generous contributions from our ecosystem partners,” explained Harambee’s chief communications officer, Zengeziwe Msimang.
Those who donate will not go empty-handed. For each bag of work attire donated, they will receive two 15% off “thank you” vouchers from H&M.
The “Suitably Dressed” donation drive will run from October 12–26 at all H&M stores in South Africa.