Elaine Birks-Mitchell: ALC ChangeMakers Podcast Interview
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Audio Only - All Participants: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. It's Jennifer here and welcome to the ALC Changemakers Podcast today. I'm so excited to have Elaine Birks-Mitchell, welcome Elaine. Thank you. Thanks for having me. For listeners, Elena and I have met through NAWBO, so I've had some guests for different organizations where I'm active. Um, NAWBO is an organization that supports women business owners.
So we have a chapter in Columbus and there's also a national chapter, and Elena and I have met through the national chapter. So we've been in virtual space together and yes, having some connection calls and I'm so excited to hear from Elaine because you have. A social enterprise called the bra recyclers based in Gilbert, Arizona, so the Phoenix area.
And I know listeners would be excited to learn about your leadership journey and what you're doing. So welcome. Well, thank you. Thanks for having me. [00:01:00] And I was, it was so exciting to just meet you on empower hour. Yes. And you know, we said let's connect and, and we're here now talking here. Here now we're here now talking.
So, Elaine, tell our listeners a bit about you and your leadership journey. Yeah. You know, so the bra recyclers that is, uh, that's my baby. That's something I'm so passionate about. And I, I started the bra recyclers. Well, first, you know, that's not what I've done all my life. I was in the corporate world, uh, like many of us, and, you know, we went through.
Um, you know, getting that base and foundation experience that, you know, that leads to, you know, what I'm doing now. So, absolutely that has shaped what I'm doing now in terms of how I started my business, how I run my business. But the bra recyclers was something that I started because I knew that there was more for me to give.
Than what I was, you know, was, was able to or could give in the corporate world. [00:02:00] And I knew I wanted to do something where I was gonna be able to give back, but also I wanted to still make a profit. So I was so intrigued with that. Social entrepreneurship model. Um, and I'm like, wow, this is exactly what I wanted to do.
'cause I had been thinking about that, but I didn't have a really a name for it back then. So this was back in 2008 and I'm like, okay, where are my people? I know this is something other people are doing. And then so, you know, I just started researching and learning about, you know, social entrepreneurship, social enterprise, and why, how other, what other people were doing.
I'm like, this is exactly. What I wanna do, I wanna be able to, we see an opportunity or a way to make things better. And basically we use entrepreneur principles to help solve it. So it's, you know, a lot of people say, well, why aren't you a nonprofit? Well, it's, you know, thank you nonprofits. You know, they're known for giving back, so that's a great thing.
Um, but I'm like, [00:03:00] yeah, I. We're not a nonprofit, we still think that we can give back just as much as a nonprofit and still make money. And it's, and it's okay to do that. And I think that's been one of our biggest challenges when I decided to go that social entrepreneur, um, route, is that it was a constant explaining to people, well, you know, you, you know, you're, why are you making money, you know, doing good.
I'm like, well, it takes. Money to do good, doing good is not free. And I, I would get that comment quite a bit, um, which was very interesting. Now, when I talk with people outside the us, social entrepreneurship is much more. I think accepted and well known and being practiced, but it, it primarily came from people, like within the US in terms of, you know, why are you trying to make money, you know, doing good.
I'm like, oh my goodness. You know, and I had to use examples like, you know, like a Goodwill. They are. They make a lot of [00:04:00] money doing good. So it, it was, it is been an interesting journey with the whole social entrepreneur model. Yeah. Well, I'd like to unpack that a bit more. Sure. Right, because I think, um, I'll just say candidly for listeners, this is something.
Where, because we work with nonprofits mostly at a LC and because of the state of just the world and the market, there have been some real questions around the business model for nonprofits. Absolutely. And, um, I've been doing some studying and I'm taking a course with Harvard University now, their business school, to better understand social enterprise and how it works and how it's constructed.
But can you just kind of like, give us a breakdown when you created your business? Like what, what did that look like? Pragmatic. Yeah. You know, what does it take to create a social enterprise? Absolutely. Well, you know, I think for, for me, it started out as we knew that there was this. Problem or opportunity, right?
We [00:05:00] knew that there were women and girls going into these various programs, shelters, et cetera. You know, being rescued from human trafficking, domestic violence, et cetera. Um, we knew that was an issue and we knew that was an issue with them going into the program. And when they got there, of course they have nothing.
And then based on conversations I had with, um, local shelters, one of the big things missing was underwear. Bras and underwear. And so again, that was kind of like, you know, that aha moment, I'm like. I got a bunch sitting in my drawer. Don't know what to do with them. Paid a lot of money for 'em. Don't wanna throw 'em out.
Yeah. And so it started there. I'm like, oh, I have a dozen minimum I can give you. And then for me, again, that aha moment, like, well, I'm sure other ladies have them too. So again, my background from the corporate world, I came out of the information technology area. Um, and project management, primarily software development projects.
So for me, [00:06:00] I'm very systematic in my thinking, very systems oriented. So I'm like, let me throw up a webpage and let me see what reaction I get from women on what they're doing with their brass. And so I, I was shocked at the response I got. And then I'm, I just tell, told people start mailing them into me.
Come on, mail 'em on in. So it started there. But so for me, I'm like, okay, I'm onto something. Again, here's this issue or opportunity we have now. What, how can I make this bigger? And how, and at the time, I did not wanna start a nonprofit. I'll just be real honest. I didn't want all the stuff that goes with starting a nonprofit.
Now we do have a nonprofit arm now we'll talk about that. But I'm like, okay, this is something that I can do now how can I do this? But also. Make money from it. Right. So I got very intrigued with, okay, what's the lifecycle of bras and underwear? So with many, um, for many retailers, uh, the, [00:07:00] the process or the, the policy is landfill burning cut.
And so, which is very wasteful as we know. So I got very interested in the whole textile recycling model in terms of learning about that. Had no clue about that industry at all. Nothing. Mm-hmm. But again, I'm going back to how can this help me build out and help more women? So again, thinking about that initial issue that I'm trying to solve for, and so just began to research, got on, um, boards of a textile recycling organization or association just to learn more.
And that's kind of how we, again, framed ourself as a textile recycling. We're very specialized in what we do. So from a business model perspective and a revenue perspective, we offer up. Um, basically a service for retailers to be a little more responsible and sustainable in terms of what they do with their overstock returns and samples.
Okay. So we'll either buy or negotiate getting their overstock returns and samples, and then what we [00:08:00] do is work with other textile recyclers and for what we don't keep to donate out, they buy our excess. So it's very different model. It's a model I think a lot of people just aren't aware of in terms of how the whole textile recycling industry works.
Yeah. Um, but that's how we decided to make, that's how we kind of fund our social enterprise. And again, it's, I know it's very unusual. People are like, oh my God, I never knew you could do that or what that was about. But that, yeah, that's kind of what we did and how we started it. It was, again, something very simple.
Yeah. So how can I make this into a business? Well, I just love this, Elaine, because I'm hearing, you know, it starts with many of us, I should say to listeners, we start our businesses 'cause we're, there's a problem we're trying to solve. So what's the problem we're trying to solve and how at this thing we're creating.
Solve said problem. So I'm hearing for you, Elaine, the problem was there was a need, and it could look for women and girls in homeless [00:09:00] shelters or in different types of programs. They needed brass. They needed brass and underwear. Absolutely. Right. That's a basic need, right? That's a basic need. Right? And so you are seeing this problem, you started with just some testing, I'm gonna say, right?
In terms of, okay, well what do I do with my brass? Which is a question a lot of us ask. What are we doing with them? Right. Um, and so, you know, and then you put up your website so saying, well, can, do people want to do this? Do they want to help in this way? Yes. Testing it out. Exactly. Yeah. Testing it out. Put up the website.
And I'm hearing you saying you are our systems thinkers, so you're like, okay, like how do we systematize this in a way where we solve this problem? Are women and girls who need underwear, who are, who are in shelters, who are dealing with whatever the life issues Right. That they're dealing with. Um, and then I heard that you.
You learned, right? Like, so you, you learned about the textiles industry. You sat on a board to learn more. And, and from that learning, I'm hearing, Elaine, you found your niche absolutely right? Absolutely. [00:10:00] And I would've, if you would've asked me. Years ago, would I be doing bra was like, absolutely not. I'm like, what?
You're crazy. What do you mean? So yeah, this was, again, nothing I even thought about. I knew that I wanted, I always tell people I knew that I wanted to figure out how to make a living for my giving. I always tell people that, but I didn't know how I was gonna do that. I did not know how I was gonna do that.
And this came. This just came to me. I love that. How to make a living from your giving. From my giving. Yep. Oh, I love that. I love that. So you mentioned, you know, you, you didn't wanna start a nonprofit, you started the social enterprise, but I know you do have a nonprofit because you named that. Absolutely.
Tell us a bit more about how that evolved, what that looks like and how that feeds into your business model. Yes, yes. So that, um, very interesting. So. I really, Jennifer, I fought that for so long. I'm not gonna lie, I did not want to take that on starting a [00:11:00] nonprofit, because as you know, you work with nonprofits.
You know everything that goes along with that. But here's what was happening. There are a couple things, two reasons, primary reasons that we started working with a lot of larger companies. A lot of large companies, particularly here in the us that social enterprise models is. Still not as accepted. And so we were getting feedback, oh, we don't work.
You know, we can only work with a nonprofit, not a social enterprise. I wanted to take that argument off the table. You know, I knew that you probably just getting rid of the stuff anyway, but if it means that I just need to provide you with that tax deduction, or you just need to work with a nonprofit.
I'm going to give, I wanna give you that because I want to work with you. I don't want you to have that stuff go to landfill. So let me give you that. But the second reason, again, it comes back to me being a social entrepreneur, is there was a need that I found out about that I wanted to help solve. And that was working with Title one schools, [00:12:00] okay.
And getting underwear into our Title one schools. Huge issue. We don't talk about it much, but for me there was a big prompting for that because of a call I got from a teacher who had a girl that was just suffering and she needed to get a bra for her. 'cause she wanted to literally damage her breasts.
And she was bullied, being bullied in tears. And she was very large for her age in the, in the sixth grade. Yeah. So I'm like, oh my goodness. You know, I need to. Help these teachers and school nurses get simple resources like bras and underwear so these kids can focus on school and not their wardrobe. So that was a big aha moment for me with also starting the nonprofit.
'cause we wanted to start a program, um, working with the schools and it was a lot easier to do that as a nonprofit versus a for-profit company. And I needed help with that, to be honest too. Okay. That is a big effort. Um, taking on the schools and I literally had to like. Shut off the faucet. When people heard we were starting to work with [00:13:00] schools, you would not believe the request that we got in.
I mean, I literally like, we're only one organization we can all do so much. So that was one of the reasons we did start the onion chest. And so what, how it ties in with the bra recyclers is that when we get companies that approach us and then, you know. They want, they're like, well, you know, from the broad recycle side, we can't work with you because I'm, I always have the on chest now kind of as that.
But here's what we can do with you. We still can work with you because we do have a nonprofit arm. Mm-hmm. So that has been amazing, um, to be able to kind of have that, um, extra little tool in my pocket to say, don't go away. You know, we can still partner with you if, if what you need is that. Um, tax deduction form, so.
Gotcha, gotcha. So what I'm hearing is the, having the nonprofit for you was strategic to meet Absolutely. To meet a marketplace [00:14:00] need where you knew there's still this impact. The problem you wanna solve is making sure. Women, girls, people who wear bras and, and, and underwear, panties, that they have those resources.
And I'm hearing that having the nonprofit arm was essential because there are entities you wanted to work with that would only work with you if you had a nonprofit. So absolutely. Title one schools. And for, can you explain what a title one school is for English? Yeah. Title one school is a school that where the, the population of the school, they, there's a certain percent that are below the.
The, um, uh, poverty level or low income level. Yes. So they have a higher percent than other schools. Yes. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. So you really have more students who have, they're at risk in certain ways. They're at risk. Absolutely. Right. And families. Mm-hmm. Right. So you wanted to make sure you wanted to work with this population of students particular, you wanted to make sure they had the, these essentials.
Right? Absolutely. Underwear. And the way to do it was to have the nonprofit. I just wanna make sure I'm [00:15:00] understanding it for listeners, because Yes. The reason was very strategic, and I name this because, and this is convos. I've had these conversations in different spaces with different entrepreneurs. Um, I think that there are many of us who have a heart for community.
Yeah. We, and we have a heart for our particular communities and we wanna give back. Right. And so the instinct is also a nonprofit to give back. Right? Yeah. Yep. And, and while that is, you know, beautiful to give back. To do it in a way that is strategic and smart. Yes. Is a sustainable way to give back. Yes.
Right. Absolutely. Right. So what I'm hearing you say, Elaine, you have found a way to give back in a way that's a, that's a business model. Absolutely. It includes a nonprofit. Yep. But you are still making a profit on the social enterprise side? It's a, it's a absolutely, it's a both end. It's not either or.
It's a both end. [00:16:00] Absolutely. And, and one feeds the other, which is great. So, for example, with the, with the nonprofit side, you know, we only take new items on the nonprofit 'cause we don't want to, we wanna reduce our costs, our biggest cost from the broad recycler side or social enterprise. Is sorting and shipping and warehouse space.
Yeah. And so, you know, one of the things that we, when I was thinking about the nonprofit side is that we only wanna take in new items because that helps reduce that cost of having to sort. Yeah. That's one of our biggest costs. Um, but I wanna talk about that too. So. Um, it was strategically thinking like, okay, just new things.
But of course, people send in use things. Now what we do, we're using kind of the same model we did with the bra recycler side. If we get in, use things that is a revenue stream, we can sell those off to other textile recyclers who will take things that aren't in, aren't, don't have the qual, they're not of quality to donate, but they're, you know, the textile recyclers will [00:17:00] still like those items.
Okay. One really. Key thing I did mention from an operational standpoint, and we use it for both the on your chest and the bra recyclers, is that, you know, as a social enterprise, we're always thinking of ways how we can give back. Right? You talk about that and so for me what was very important, and this kind of fell in our lap too, is we operationally, we work with a local organization that works with people with disabilities.
And it's called EHA, and it is amazing. I, I can't even tell you, we had in the beginning such a hard time finding a good labor force to help us. Our, our, our industry's very labor intensive in terms of sorting. And, um, so we, we approached them, we said, here's what we're doing, and they're like.
Absolutely. And so what we do is that we train the staff what to look for when we get a shipment in, you know, if we get used product [00:18:00] again. They're looking to see if snaps are broken, if it's stained, if it's so, it is just amazing. They. Are such an amazing group to work with. 'cause they wanna work, they wanna be there, they wanna make a living, right?
Yes. Yes. And that is, um, such an amazing strategic partnership that we have that has just really allowed us to grow. Yes. Um, and it's just, I, I can't even say enough about that. Well, I love this innovation. Can you name the, the, the organization one more time? Yeah. It's called Epi, A-E-P-I-H-A-B, epi A. So they work and epi epilepsy.
So some of the organizations, some of the, um, the, um, employees have like epilepsy or some other disability and can't in a normal work environment. Sure. So they provide them those opportunities where they can work and they work around. However they need to work, you know, so they're very flexible, but it is, again, just an amazing opportunity.
They work with all kind of other businesses. Um, also in terms of [00:19:00] shipping, they have a printing. Uh, it's just amazing. We, we actually have a, um, website, uh, excuse me, a video on our website, uh, where, where we have the president talking about, um, epi hb. So, yeah. I love that. Well, listen, I'm just, I'm just loving the way Again, you've taken something that's cause oriented, right?
And you've created into this business model where you, you're making a profit. Yeah. Right? Um, you're creating really, um, authentic and interesting partnerships that are strategic. Right. You're creating win-wins, like that's what I'm hearing. Yes. Like it's a series of win win-wins that you're, that you've been developing.
Yeah. I'm super curious, you know, just to pivot to the current time we're in, right? So, um, we're, we're recording this in 2025, but you know, yes. The market is challenging now. Yes. Tariff are a thing. Now, tell listeners how you're navigating this terrain because [00:20:00] your business is impacted by things like tariffs, right.
Absolutely it is. It is, uh, it, it is very challenging for a, a lot of businesses. Um, but I think for us, and a lot of people don't realize this, so the people that will buy our excess, they are so impacted by tariffs, um, because they sell, buy and sell from foreign countries. And so, which means. For us, they're not buying as much because again, they're getting hit by these tariffs.
So we have absolutely had to pivot and I think this has to be one of the toughest times for us. 'cause we're trying to figure out, oh my goodness, you know, how do we pivot? How do we, you know, continue to, you know. Do what we do, um, because they're just not buying as much. So we have had to really kinda rethink, um, what we're doing.
One of the things that, one that I've started to do is that we have an ambassador program where we work with retailers and we offer up various services. One of the big things, again, this comes from my. [00:21:00] Data background or being in, in information technology. I'm a data girl and so we actually, um, we've collected so much data over the years that's something that's, you know, very valuable to retailers.
So we do offer services now where we can help them report on. Their environmental impact. So we rec, we would do scorecards and sustain, we call it sustainability scorecard, to show them their impact. And again, those are all services that we offer for a fee. Um, we can help them with their take back programs in terms of capturing that data of who's recycling, how much they're recycling.
So again. We're offering that up as a fee. So I'm trying to figure out ways, other revenue streams that we can, um, you know, that we can do use during this time because it is very challenging. I'm not gonna lie. It is very challenging, and we're not the only ones. Um, but we're, we're trying to adjust, you know, as you know, from nonprofit perspective, getting grants is.
Oh my gosh. I, I [00:22:00] can't even tell you how tough that is. That is a really, um, so many people are going after the same grants. Not as many grants are available, so that's also tough. So we're trying to figure out, again, revenue streams even from the, the und chest side in terms of what we can do. Yeah. So, yeah.
For sure, for sure. Well, this has, I know, been the conversation in many small business spaces that I reside in, talking to founders and CEOs of what, what are you doing and how have you been impacted? Yes. And I think, you know, whether it's being impacted by tariffs or slower sales. Slower, longer sales cycles for less money.
Yes. More competitive. Like this is the landscape that we're currently navigating. And so I think really supporting one another as we go through this challenging time is just so absolutely. Absolutely. And I even think, you know, one of the things that I've actually had a heart to do for a long time is figuring out how I can also do some more consulting with other nonprofits and small businesses.
I'm, again, I think one of the things that I find, particularly with [00:23:00] nonprofits and also small business, but definitely with no nonprofits, is that, you know, I'm very, again, systems oriented. Yeah. So I think making sure you have your systems in place Yes. To help you. Um. You know, kind of run your business more effectively and efficiently is so key.
And I know a lot of people are kind of afraid of those systems, but you don't have to be. And I, you know, one of the things that I'd love to be able to do is help more businesses figure out. How to streamline, how to put those systems in place so you don't need as many resources to help you. So we have automated so much that it allows me not to have so many resources, um, behind the scenes because we've just automated so much, which is I think, um, very key.
And particularly in this, this. What's going on right now? Yeah. Well, you're speaking my language, Elaine. I know. We, we met just a few months back, but I could see a partnership brewing because we do so much around people and culture at ALC and we want cultures and we want organizations to [00:24:00] thrive.
You know, we are moving into the mergers and acquisition space to support nonprofits. Be strategic about that. Um, and part of that is also systems. Right. Absolutely. What does that look like? So for listeners, right? You might hear from us again, talk about Yes, absolutely. Um, definitely. This is great. Well, um, this has been such a great conversation with you, Elaine.
I'm just curious, do you have anything coming up? Like if we have brass to donate work, can we send them to you? Yeah. Um, and do you have any parting thoughts or words of wisdom as well? Yeah, no, we, for sure. So I we're, I know we're recording in 2025 and, um, we always encourage women look in your drawers and see all those bras that you either never wore or could no longer wear.
Yeah. And definitely go to our website, thebrarecyclers.com. We have drop offs all around the country. Um, so you can go and click and see what's in your area, or you can mail 'em directly into us. So go on and click on the recycling form on our website. Follow the [00:25:00] instructions and mail 'em directly to us.
You know, one thing I, I will leave, I think for you, 'cause I know you work with nonprofits and other small businesses, is that make sure that you're integrating in some kind of doing good in your business. Yeah, I think from a marketing perspective. People want to work with organizations that are giving back.
Yeah. A lot of companies, this, particularly younger individuals, now they're looking for that. Yeah. They want to work with someone or, or companies that are making sure they're leaving this place a better place. Yeah. So, you know, however you do that, whatever your passion is, weave that into your business model and make that be part of your mission.
Um, 'cause I think we all need to do that as businesses. Yep, totally agree. We could do a whole segment on cause marketing and what that is. Yes. That means your businesses, I'm game to have that conversation on the podcast. Um, and it should be something that is values aligned. It makes sense for your business.
If it's inauthentic, everybody can see it. So it needs to be authentic [00:26:00] If you're Absolutely yes. Read through that. They absolutely. That they do. And trying to slap that label of social enterprise on if you haven't Yes. Mm-hmm. No, if, if you're doing kind of social responsibility work, it needs to be authentic for it to really resonate with the community and the population that you're in, that you're impacting.
So Absolutely. Again, I'm happy to a whole podcast segment just on that. Well, this has been fantastic, Elaine. We'll have to have you on the podcast again. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I love to be able to share what we're doing, and if I can help anyone, I'd love to. Yeah. Well this is great. Well, for listeners, as always, you can find information about Elaine and her business on jennifersconyers.com and in the show notes.
And until then, until next time, thanks everybody. Thank you.
