In one of those rare marketing stunts that actually benefit someone else as well, Uber has partnered with the Australian Red Cross to run the most convenient clothing drive ever. Supposedly realising that most people always intend on donating to charity stores but can never be bothered to actually do it, Uber will be picking up your clothing donations for free, this Sunday from 11am to 4pm.
“The festive season can often leave us with clothing and other items we don’t really need. This year, instead of ditching your unwanted clothing and presents, let one of our driver-partners take them to your local Red Cross Shop right from your door!”
Actually taking advantage of it is easy — whether you’re a new or existing customer, just bag up your unwanted clothing, log into the app and select the “Clothing Drive” option, then request a driver who will come and pick it up, free of charge. Note that drivers aren’t allowed to leave their vehicles unattended, so you will have to be there to hand it to them — you can’t just leave it up on your driveway for them to pick up.
The service will only be active between 11am and 4pm on Sunday January 31, and Uber expects high demand, recognising that it may not be able to fulfil all requests. However it still gives you a good excuse to have a good spring (summer?) clean on Saturday, all for a good cause. For all the nitty gritty on Sunday’s clothing drive, check Uber’s official announcement here.
Before you commit to sorting through your entire wardrobe, however, just make sure your area is included in Uber’s service areas for this event:
Sydney: CBD, Lower North Shore, Eastern Suburbs, Inner West
Canberra: North and South Canberra
Melbourne: CBD, North to Brunswick and Northcote, East to Kew and Hawthorn, South-East to Elsternwick and Malvern East, Dandenong
Geelong: North Geelong to Corio and Norlane, South Geelong to Grovedale and Marshall, Central Geelong
Adelaide: CBD and Surrounding Suburbs
Perth: CBD, North to Joondalup, South to Cockburn
Brisbane: CBD, South to Moorooka, North to Chermside, East to Murrarie, West to Indooroopilly
Gold Coast: Southport to Coolangatta
Sunshine Coast: Caloundra to Noosa Heads
If this one-day campaign is successful, you can only wonder what will come next: Uber for tinned food drives? Uber for blood donations? Either way, it’s good to see Uber doing something positive with all their influence.