Kiyonna Pays It Forward

It happens like clockwork.  As if on cue, my husband rolls his eyes as I ask the waitress for the ever-so-predictable to-go box.  There is no way I’m going to let those 2 pieces of bread, that half-eaten chicken, and that 1 lonely broccoli go to waste.  No Way!!!  People are starving and I will not let this food go to waste!  It’s sooooo wrong.

And like clockwork, half of all my to-go boxes end up in the trash because I forgot about the broccoli which is now sad and wilted and I’ve just harmed the environment with another useless Styrofoam box. 

Waste feels bad.  I don’t know about you, but I try to avoid it at any cost (and as you can see from the above example, I’m not always successful).  At work, we have excess merchandise that accumulates weekly.  We’re in the business of producing stylish line of plus size women’s clothing and receive deliveries weekly of new merchandise, a percentage of which has to be given away. 

So every single day at work, myself and my team pass by racks and racks and boxes and boxes of never worn, well-made clothing that is perfectly good…just not to us in a business sense. 

Now, in a world where there are millions in need, and being that we provide a pretty basic human need, clothing, that merchandise needs to move.  Having this excess is a normal part of our business, and I’m really proud to say that doing good with it has become just as normal as well. 

Let me tell you about an organization we just started working with called Working Wardrobes.  This last Friday, we donated over $20,000 of merchandise so that this angelic non-profit can help restore the self-esteem of women who they are helping get back on their feet and into the workforce.  Our entire team toured the facility (also in Orange County) that includes 2 shopping areas (men’s and women’s) with dressing rooms, beauty salon, career development rooms (equipped with computers and a library of books on job procurement).  Over half of the women they serve are plus-size and these selfless volunteers and staff could not have been more grateful that we turned our beautiful “excess” over to them.  They were grateful?  If they only knew.*

Ahh, it was a great morning and the team was pumped!  Finance and Production can now justify losses, Shipping will now have a pep in their steps when packing up “excess”, and Marketing and Merchandising can now let go of the guilt associated with keeping those 1-size-lefters available for purchase on our website (www.kiyonna.com)!

To celebrate the wonderful partnership we were able to forge with Working Wardrobes, we did what any normal group of women would do…we ate!!!  We went to Mamma Cozza’s down the street here (cause I just happened to see them on the Food Network and they make this cheesy gooey Mama’s Pizza that was sooo good).  And guess what???  I got a to-go box.  Ha ha!!!!  I swear I’m eating the left-overs today.  Swear.

* To learn more about Working Wardrobes and to donate, please go to http://www.workingwardrobes.org/ 

Let us take you on your own tour of Working Wardrobes…

Team Kiyonna with Megan and Rose from Working Wardrobe

Working Wardrobe welcomes Kiyonna

Kiyonna on display at front desk

Women’s Department

Interview ready in Kiyonna

 

Plus-sizes at work