Hush Puppies Australia is set to support women in remote communities through a new partnership with Happy Boxes Project.
The partnership encourages Hush Puppies customers to reuse their shoe box and fill it with self-care products such as deodorant, shampoo and soap, to be sent to remote communities which have limited access to these basic toiletries.
Customers can either post the box themselves, or can return the box to a Hush Puppies store to be posted on their behalf.
Speaking on the partnership, Hush Puppies marketing manager Jamie Kouktzelas said that there were three key reasons for the business to get involved.
"Even though we are a heritage American brand, we’ve been selling Hush Puppies in Australia for over 60 years and it’s so important to give back to the community and country.
"And we fell in love with the Happy Boxes Project values and how they align to our Hush Puppies values.
"We also love that we are giving our Hush Puppies shoe boxes another purpose so they don’t just end up in landfill," she said.
The Hush Puppies and Happy Boxes Project partnership was established in September last year, and alongside sending the boxes, Hush Puppies has also donated 200 pairs of shoes to the same remote communities.
Helping to raise awareness and communicate the program to customers, Hush Puppies sends information flyers out with every online and in-store purchase.
And, the strategy is paying off so far, with one third of all Happy Boxes being sent coming from Hush Puppies customers since the partnership began, Kouktzelas said.
"We haven’t set any targets but the initiative will be ongoing and we would love to contribute as many boxes as possible that the Happy Boxes Project has the ability to expand and reach even more communities.
"We often highlight the initiative on our social media and in our emails and you can find more information on all our causes and alignments in the Community page of our website," she said.
Further information on the initiative can also be found on the Happy Boxes Project website.