​Overview of The Report

Sam Brown, the coordinator of the Hire Attire with the Office of Student Employment, was looking for ideas to improve the program. The ideas centered around how to handle donations, inventory management, and organizational strategies. 

 

Our team report used Google search and IU library databases to conduct our research. We also developed recommendations from our local study composed on Google Forms, where we contacted universities with clothing closets and surveyed how they operate their program. The goal from these recommendations was to provide real life industry trends, whether that be with thrift stores or universities. This provides recommendations that are being applied to similar programs and provide insights on whether they are effective or not. 

 

The universities surveyed provided clear trends in program operations and what they found to be successful. The universities differed on donation strategies, inventory, organization, and business structures to best match the goals of their program and university. Thrift stores provided broad strategies as their purpose does not align with the Hire Attire Program, however, the broad strategies allowed for clear business strategies and guidelines.

 

Key Findings from Survey and Online Searches

• Provide clear guidelines allows for effective communication between donors and donation sites

• Give unwanted clothing donations to another organization in the community or partner with a another university department, allowing for donors to have a positive experience because none of their clothes are being turned away, and the clothes are then put to later use

• Create a smooth layout for students to pass through the closet easily, so students will not be overwhelmed and can easily browse through clothes

• Purchasing hidden storages bins or furniture to place extra clothing or items in and frees up space on the walls

• Use a digital tagging system to collect inventory through QR codes, so all items are accounted for and on a digital site

• Implement specific roles for each portion of the operation to allow for a clear understanding of responsibilities

 

Summary of Recommendations

• Donation Techniques and Strategies

• Organization and Space Management

• Inventory Management for a Smoother System

• Business Structure and Management

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