Fashion Startup Encourages Customers to Buy Less and Donate More

CINCINNATI, April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fashion startup Cladwell encourages its users to buy, or keep, only the clothes they need, and give away the rest. In a new survey of its users, Cladwell discovered users are following their advice, to the tune of $10 million in donations.

By surveying a cross-section of its online database of more than 160,000 customers, Cladwell discovered that customers donated nine items of clothing on average, representing a total of 1.2 million clothing items given to charity. By using suggested tax deduction values, Cladwell determined the value of those donations exceeds $10 million.

Customer Charlie Pelowski of Texas donated four large bags of clothes to a veterans' charity and told Cladwell, "Now I have a wardrobe that I'm extremely happy with."  Dean, a customer in Ottowa, Canada, told Cladwell he cleaned his closet and donated six bags of clothing to a local charity, stating the purge was "hard but fun."

Most donations are coming from Cladwell customers who use its Wardrobe service, which encourages men to pare down their current clothing to a capsule wardrobe, and give away the rest. Through Cladwell.com's email tips, users are encouraged to "Purge and Pass It On," passing on the clothes they don't need to charities or to friends in need. In addition to the charitable donations, Cladwell's survey reports that users also have given away 275,000 clothing items--or $1.9 million worth--of clothing to friends.

"The truth is that there is a finite number of clothes you actually need in your life," said Blake Smith, Cladwell co-founder. "By helping customers determine that number—and then stop shopping—we free men to focus their time and money on what they really care about—family, friends and experiences."

Launched in 2013, Cladwell provides free, individualized style advice to help men dress better, using personal stylists along with computer algorithms that account for lifestyle, budget, style preferences, coloring and body type. Its Wardrobe feature is a free service that provides custom recommendations for men's clothing, aimed to help men build a sustainable, quality wardrobe, and then stop shopping.

In addition to donations, Cladwell's survey indicates customers save $82 on average by using its Wardrobe service. Spread out across all 160,000 users, this translates into a savings in excess of $13 million in clothing purchases.

SOURCE Cladwell

Related Links

http://www.cladwell.com