Clothing the Gaps
Laura Thompson, a Gunditjmara woman, and Sarah Sheridan are the co-founders of the innovative social enterprise, Clothing the Gaps. Clothing the Gaps began as Spark Health, an Aboriginal lead...
Clothing the Gaps
Laura Thompson, a Gunditjmara woman, and Sarah Sheridan are the co-founders of the innovative social enterprise, Clothing the Gaps. Clothing the Gaps began as Spark Health, an Aboriginal lead health group that has now evolved into a fashion brand with a mission. Not only do Clothing the Gaps products help mob and allies to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, they directly contribute to eliminating the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and life expectancies.
For Laura and Sarah, offering “Jobs for Mob” is an important part of Clothing the Gaps’ aim. Sarah said, “Our employment pathways and programs are what we do here. We have an amazing team, 92% of our team are from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island backgrounds and we have a staffing group of 28 now.”
At it’s core, Clothing The Gaps empowers all Australians to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultures through informed shopping that makes a difference. Sarah shared, “I want to see more of non-Indigenous Australia getting to feel connected to and supporting Aboriginal people and culture and history and being proud of that and walking alongside the Aboriginal communities everywhere they go... It’s not just a great tee, it’s a tee that has a call to action and a responsibility that comes with it as well.”
For Sarah and Laura, aligning with companies that share their values is important, from production to sales. Clothing the Gaps is proud to be the first Aboriginal business to receive Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation. Sarah said, “The other really lovely part is being able to be on another amazing platform that’s really authentic and genuine as well. We think really carefully about where we stock, we don’t stock with just anyone...and we really love what Welcome to Country does.”