Hello there! We hope that you are all doing well. As we usher in 2021 with our masks and new Phase 3 policies, we wanted to look back on the past year (our first!) and celebrate our accomplishments together.
Loving the World We Live In
Aside from our community, Thryft is fiercely dedicated towards sustainability. We continue to uphold and promote our belief that the love for reading and books does not have to come at the cost of our home. In fact, sustainability starts at home, first with your old titles that are eligible for trade-ins with us.
In our first year, we are proud to have received 14511 books from trade-ins and 2662 books from donations. Many of these books would otherwise be discarded or left untouched on the shelves, so thank you for giving them new lives!
For the books that we receive but do not meet our quality assurance standards, Thryft donates those still in readable conditions to other non-profit organisations. Other than providing over 800 books for children from low-income families through our partner Hopefull, we have also dropped off over 300 books at the year-end #fixingtheunbroken Initiatives by Keat Hong Colours Samaritans.
Furthermore, Thryft has also recycled 1532kg of books that are no longer in readable conditions. Instead of sending these books to the landfills, recycling allows for them to be converted to paper pulps to be used as reusable material in future. We would also like to express our gratitude to our recycling partner Gee Hoe Seng Private Limited for working with us to recycle responsibly.
Covid-19 has been a sharp reminder of the impact of our actions on others and our world. Now more than ever, sustainability is the key to maintaining a healthy relationship with the world. Your traded-in titles have enabled us to be both better for the planet and for the people. With Thryft, you are able to make room for more: by freeing up spaces on your old shelves through trade-ins, you also get to bring joy to the less fortunate.
Powering through the Pandemic
Despite launching in a challenging year, we sold 5562 second-hand books in 2020. Other than making more environmentally-conscious choices, thank you for giving back to the community through every purchase with us.
Sustainability Pledge
At Thryft, we recognise how important it is for us to support and uplift the underprivileged. With the onslaught of the pandemic, it became even more pertinent for us to give back to meaningful causes in the community. Under our Sustainability Pledge, we promise to donate 10% of our profits from every purchase of Thryft Singapore's books to support efforts in tackling urgent environmental or social issues.
In the first quarter of 2020, we donated to three different local Covid-19 relief funds. Our first donation was made to support migrant workers through Project Chulia Street in April. In May, we partnered with The Food Bank Singapore to support their Feed The City (take-away edition) campaign. For June, we donated to Comm.UnitySG's New Hope From Home campaign catering to displaced individuals.
As we moved on to the second half of 2020, we partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore (WWF-Singapore) to support its For Nature For Us community and recovery programme.
In total, your purchases on our store have allowed us to donate $2088.82 to directly assist our beneficiaries such as migrant workers, low-income families and shelter residents. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing in solidarity with the less fortunate in these tumultuous times and for doing good with us.
Books for Charity
In March, we started our Books for Charity programme where 50% of profits earned from donated books are channeled to a social organisation. This is all made possible thanks to our first donor, Books and Beer, and the many like-minded individuals who have since donated their books to expand our collection.
Together, we were able to donate $2275.07 to Methodist Welfare Services' Donate to Bless fund to support low-income families through Covid-19.
Partners for Change
Earlier in 2020, Thryft launched our Partners for Change programme where we partner with non-profit organisations and list their books on our platforms at no cost. Under Partners for Change, we commit to donate 100% of profits earned from these books back to their various causes.
We started this pilot programme in March with Blessings in a Bag as our first beneficiary. In total, we have raised $539.92 for them to consistently empower and uplift under-resourced youth.
Two months later, Books Beyond Borders joined us in May as our second partner. We are proud to have raised $253.73 for Books Beyond Borders to support families and children's education in Nepalese villages.
A Thank You from Thryft
Always and again, thank you for your unceasing support for Thryft. The kind words and understanding that you have shown us have continually motivated us to push on through the uncertainty of the past year. At the end of the day, we would not have come so far without your support.
2020 has been a whirlwind of a year. Yet, in spite of all the unnerving changes we have had to grapple with, we were encouraged by your enthusiasm for our environmental and social mission and we've become more committed than ever to doing good. As we stand here at the beginning of 2021, we cannot wait to keep growing with you, for others, and for our world. Have a Happy New Year, and let's continue doing good for the people and the planet together!
