College Times

Issue date: 5/21/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy Elaine Birks-Mitchell

Back in October, Elaine Birks-Mitchell was sifting through her drawer full of bras when she had an epiphany: She wasn’t ever going to wear some of the bras again, and some were so new they still had their tags on them. Instead of letting them sit in the drawer forever, why not get them to women in transitional housing and shelters in the Valley who need them more?

Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling™ was born. Drawing on donations from 14 states and Canada, Birks-Mitchell and her husband Johnny Mitchell Jr., work from their home, collecting bras and giving them back to the community.

“It’s not only Arizona that needs this, but we were here, so we started here,” Birks-Mitchell says. “We ultimately want to go national. We want to help those women in shelters who have enough on their plate already. And, one day, I’d like to get Oprah to say my name.”

With big dreams and a so-far successful bra recycling company, Birks-Mitchell spoke with College Times about her business venture.

Why did you start the company?

We were seeing a need in the community, and we had been talking with shelters. We asked several shelters what they needed, and all of them said, “We never have enough bras.” We started doing research, and we found that there were people over in the UK doing this, so we called them to see if they had any business here, but they had nothing. So far, we have gotten over 2,400 bras since October. It’s been pretty amazing and it feels really good.

Where do the bras go after you collect them?

All our bras go to shelters here in the Valley right now. We’re working with Central Arizona Shelter Services, Fresh Start and Florence Crittenden. We choose organizations that focus on helping women and girls.

What has been the hardest thing to do so far?

Letting people know about us. The internet is a wonderful thing, and since we’re the only company of its kind in America, the search engines pretty much do all the work for us. Locally, the media has helped spread the word, and my husband has been very instrumental. He’s been speaking with businesses, and seeing if they’re interested in being bra drop-off points. We’ve also been speaking with Valley Goodwill stores to see if they have any left over bras. This is really a niche market, so we also have been talking with exporters to see if they could help us get bras to shelters outside of Arizona.

What has the response been like from women receiving the bras?

Because of the privacy agreement with the shelters, we can’t really see the women themselves. But from the contact people we’ve been dealing with, the women love getting nice bras and they only get the best of the best because they deserve it. They’re going through enough as it is.

What has the reaction been like from your husband and other men?

My husband, even though he’s working with me, doesn’t really get it, like most men. He can’t understand why I have so many bras in the first place. I just tell him it’s a woman thing. Probably the funniest reaction is from other men. We have a magnet on the truck that has the Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling™ logo. We get calls from men asking if it is a joke all the time.

How can people help?

Right now, we need larger size bras to donate. They can go to Brarecycling.org. There, they can find a list of the drop-off points, or an address to mail donations to. We’re also looking for some student interns to work for us, to help come up with fresh creative ideas.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools