Donations to regional clothing initiative dry up as retail sector struggles in Victoria

Cafs Thread Together is seeing increasing demand. (ABC Ballarat: Lexie Jeuniewic)

A regional Victorian initiative providing clothes to vulnerable people is struggling to keep up with demand as donations from retail partners slow amid the cost of living crisis.

Australian charity Thread Together collaborates with Child and Family Services Ballarat (Cafs) to operate the program, which services people across the Central Highlands region through a Ballarat hub and mobile wardrobe van.

Various retail partners, including Myer and Bonds, supply the initiative with new clothes and accessories, which are often excess or old season stock.

In the past 12 months the program has provided more than 19,500 items to about 2,300 clients.

Outgoing program and volunteer lead Nicole Roberts said the service was “busier than ever” but the flow of donations was decreasing.

“Retailers are holding on to stock for longer to try and get more money,” she said.

“The stock they’re producing, they’re making less quantity — so they’re not having as much excess as they did, so it’s definitely the ripple effect.”

According to latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), total retail turnover in Victoria fell by nearly five per cent in February 2024 compared to the previous month.

Spike in workers seeking help

In the meantime, demand for homelessness services in most Victorian municipalities has sharply risen among employed people.

A report by the Council to Homeless Persons showed there was a 14 per cent rise in workers seeking help in the state last year.

The report showed that Ballarat saw an additional 112 employed people seeking homelessness assistance compared to two years prior.

Employed women accounted for 54 per cent of that growth.

The rise puts the regional city ahead of Melbourne in terms of the amount of working people using homelessness services.

Other regional LGAs, including Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton and Mildura, rank among the top 10.

Ms Roberts said Cafs Thread Together was seeing requests for help from people who had never come forward before.

“There are far more people who haven’t asked for help before that are now putting their hands up, just so they can try and hang in there — it’s tough,” she said.

The initiative is seeking additional retail partners, particularly in the lead-up to winter, when demand is expected to jump further.

“We’d really love to have local businesses donating and seeing their excess is going to people in the local community,” Ms Roberts said.