Usually, when you rock up to the beach, you’d find shells, fishing lines and the ~occasional~ blue bottle washed up on shore. However, this morning, Bondi Beach reportedly had a crap ton of clothes on its beautiful sand. But why?
Earlier today, Sydneysiders who were browsing the ‘net were left scratching their noggings after a video of what looks like a wardrobe explosion on Bondi Beach surfaced on Instagram via Bondi Lines.
Although the scene looks like a snapshot of my bedroom floor before a weekend bender, the reason why so many clothes ‘washed up’ on one of Australia’s most famous beaches is quite deep.
You see, the video was actually an Artificial Intelligence demonstration by the Australian Red Cross and Uber to symbolise 109 million pieces of clothing that are currently hanging up in Australians’ wardrobes, which haven’t been worn in the past 12 months. So, basically, the clothes “virtually” washed up on Bondi Beach.
In a report conducted by YouGov, commissioned by Uber and Red Cross, it found that 97% of Aussies admitted to owning clothing that hasn’t been worn in the past year which could be donated and that the average Australian has $952 worth of clothing sitting unused in their wardrobes, totalling an estimated $18.5 billion nationally.
The creepy AI video, which symbolises these cooked stats, was created in order to promote a ‘yuge clothing drive that’ll hopefully help Aussies clear out their wardrobes.
How does it work?
If you’re looking to donate some sweet ‘fits, Uber is making its package pickup and delivery services free so Aussies can donate their preloved clothes to the Red Cross from their doorstep this Saturday, October 21.
For the nitty-gritty details, here is how you can donate:
- Clock into the Uber app between 9am to 14pm local time on October 21 and click on the “Package” option.
- Select “Send a package”, enter “Red Cross Shop” as the destination and the delivery will be directed to your closest drop-off point.
Free delivery is only redeemable once and you’ll need to be located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth or Sydney.
Honestly, as we inch towards 2024, I think this is the perfect time for both some spring cleaning and to get ready for my next era.
As they say: “New year, new me,” and this clothes drive is a genius start to the new me part.
