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Credit: Lester Jones
Over the coming months in collaboration with ECCO, GRAZIA is setting out to meet young Australians from all walks of life who are committed to making a difference in the lives of others – be it through gestures small or large, extraordinary or everyday, from a national campaign to a kind word one-on-one.
Beginning each day by dressing in a set of clean clothes is a reality for most, but not all, Australians – one that is likely taken for granted by many among that majority for whom clothing, comfort and cleanliness go unquestionably hand in hand.
But what if, through a litany of circumstances beyond your control, you woke one day and found yourself without access to those facilities and the accompanying life they entail? How then do you face the world, let alone the remainder of that day, having been denied one of the fundamental tenets of human rights?
Those are but two of the questions that Lucas Patchett, the co-founder of Orange Sky Laundry, is attempting to tackle and hopefully eradicate through the organisation he founded at just 20-years-old with a childhood friend, Nicholas Marchesi. Two years ago, the Brisbane-based duo started Australia’s first free mobile laundry service for homeless Australians run completely by volunteers.
Despite their relatively rapid growth and diversification of services, the founders and their team of over 800 volunteers remain single-mindedly dedicated to raising the health and hygiene standards as well as restoring dignity and respect to the lives of Australia’s estimated 105,000 homeless through a simple gesture with profound results – one that sparks a catalyst for meaningful conversations on both an interpersonal and a national scale.
On occasion of the release of the new ECCO Cool 2.0 shoe, in which 100% waterproof and breathable GORE-TEX technology acts to help keep feet dry no matter the task at hand, GRAZIA sat down with Patchett to walk the proverbial mile and discuss the journey that has lead the Orange Sky Laundry to the incredible place where it is today.
For more information about the ECCO Cool 2.0 shoes worn throughout, head here.
VIDEO PRODUCTION
Motion: Lester Jones
Art direction: Patti Andrews
Special thanks to: Orange Sky Laundry
