Truist Foundation Inspire Awards

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Threads by Dreads Foundation

Team Leader

Christiana Afotey

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Solution Overview & Team Lead Details

What is the name of your organization?

Threads by Dreads Foundation

Is your organization registered as 501(c)(3) status with the IRS?

Yes

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Nashville, TN, USA

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

  • Connecting small business owners and key stakeholders such as investors, local policymakers, and mentors with the relevant experience to improve coordination, collaboration, and knowledge bases within the small business ecosystem
  • Advocating for and shaping policy that supports small business owners and/or place-based efforts in their geographic areas, including increased access to resources, removal of structural barriers, and access to infrastructure such as broadband

What is the name of your solution?

Threads by Dreads Foundation - Fabric Scraps and Remnants Recycle

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

Recycling fabric scraps and remnants will significantly reduce textile waste

What is your solution?

Did you know that only 14% of major apparel manufacturers recycle their clothing? In other words 8.5 times out of 10 fabric used to make clothing is being wasted and discarded. Clothing ends up in the trash and finds its way to the world's trash piles. At Threads by Dreads, we recycle and donate our fabric scraps/remnants to creatives to use for their art projects. 

What specific problem are you solving?

Reducing waste helps reduce carbon footprint and pollution, thus helping the World heal from the effects carbon pollution.

Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.

Threads by Dreads Foundation is addressing global warming and textile waste elimination by recycling fabric from mass producers of apparel. 

Who does your solution serve, including demographics, and how does the solution impact their lives?

This impacts everyone...especially those old enough to contribute to making a difference

Is the solution already being implemented in at least one of the Truist Foundation’s target geographies: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Texas, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Delaware?

No

Are you planning to expand your solution to at least one US state? If so, please provide an overview of your expansion plans. What is the market opportunity for your business or product here?

Currently operating in TN and will expand once logistics, people and resources are in sync

Is your organization’s mission to help launch small businesses and/or to sustain small businesses?

This is not part of our mission, but as a bi-product of our services we offer

What is your theory of change?

Did you know that only 14% of major apparel manufacturers recycle their clothing? In other words 8.5 times out of 10 fabric used to make clothing is being wasted and discarded. Clothing ends up in the trash and finds its way to the world's trash piles. At Threads by Dreads, we recycle and donate our fabric scraps/remnants to creatives to use for their art projects. 

Our solution's stage of development:

Pilot: a product, service, or business model that is in the process of being built and tested with a small number of beneficiaries or working to gain traction.

What is your organization’s stage of development?

Idea: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea.
More About Your Solution

How many small businesses does your solution currently serve? How many will it serve in one year? In five years?

2 businesses that we are currently serving

Your Business Model & Funding
Partnership & Award Funding Opportunities

In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?

  • Human Capital (e.g. sourcing talent, board development, etc.)
  • Business model (e.g. product-market fit, strategy & development)
  • Financial (e.g. improving accounting practices, pitching to investors)
  • Public Relations (e.g. branding/marketing strategy, social and national media)
  • Technology (e.g. software or hardware, web development/design, data analysis, etc.)
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Solution Team

 
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