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Boardriders, Kering & Others Donate to Australia Fire Relief
Fashion is getting involved in the fight against the wildfires that have been ravaging Australia over the past month.
Boardriders, Inc. announced that it would donate 100 percent of profits from its Australian e-commerce site the week of Jan. 11 to fire-relief efforts. It also is encouraging its Australian employees to take off two paid days each month to volunteer for fire-relief efforts for the duration of the crisis.
Boardriders is headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., but the company has Australian roots. Its Quiksilver and Billabong brands were founded in Australia. Dave Tanner, Boardriders’ U.S.-headquartered chief executive officer, said that the fire crisis has weighed heavily on the company.
Paris-based luxury company Kering announced that it would donate 1 million Australian dollars—or 685,700 U.S. dollars—to fire relief. Kering’s sustainability experts will select the local organizations that will receive funds, according to a company statement. Sustainability is central to Kering’s mission. It releases an environmental profit-and-loss statement that details the company’s impact on the environment. Kering’s brands include Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.
Australian–based companies also have been contributing to the fire relief. Scentre Group, owner and operator of the Westfield retail-center company in Australia and New Zealand, donated AU$500,000 (US$342,793) to Salvation Army Australia. Westfield was founded in Australia, and until December 2017 the mall-owner company was headquartered in Australia.
Many Australia-based Westfield tenants made donations as well. Lingerie retailer Honey Birdette donated AU$15,000 (US$10,284) to Red Cross Australia Disaster Relief.
