Republic of Everyone, an Australian sustainable strategy company, has received an International Green Award in the advertising and PR category for its work on The Garage Sale Trail.
The award recognised the successful reinvention of the humble garage sale, turning the event into a national campaign and allowing Australians to meet their neighbours, make some money and divert waste away from landfill.
Taking cues from the recent rise of collaborative consumption and communal sustainability, The Garage Sale Trail encouraged Australians to hold garage sales on the same day, throughout the country. Creating a dialogue based around environmental practices and redistributing goods was helped with digital technology. This allowed more people to get involved with smart phones and online, ensuring the lasting success of this concept.
“Garage Sale Trail is an awesome collaboration…Over 3,000 households participated in hosting sales with 80,000 participants all up. People made money, met their neighbours and kept 55,000 kilograms of waste out of landfill in the process. We’re looking forward to evolving it further in 2012.” Andrew Valder, founding partner of The Garage Sale Trail.