Letter from the President

A Renewed Commitment for Sustainable Development


In September 2015, world leaders came together to adopt a new set of Sustainable Development Goals, setting a progressive development agenda for the next 15 years focused on ending poverty, creating greater equity and justice, and protecting the planet. These goals will build on the momentum created by the Millennium Development Goals, which had been signed by 189 countries in 2000. The MDGs focused on achieving eight goals by 2015, which ranged from halving extreme poverty and hunger to promoting gender equality and reducing child mortality.  Approximately one billion people had been lifted out of poverty by the 2015 deadline.

Planet Aid will continue to be a part of the global effort to steer the planet onto a better path.  For nearly two decades, our model of making clothing recycling convenient for the public has successfully diverted over 1 billion pounds of textiles from wasteful disposal. This has reduced landfill burdens, lowered greenhouse gas emissions, saved water, and slashed municipal disposal costs, while also providing good jobs for our employees.

In pursuing our dual mission (for the environment and for people), we will continue to donate the net proceeds from our recycling operations to support projects in the developing world. These projects are aligned with many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
For example, Planet Aid’s Food for Knowledge project in Mozambique is providing a nutritious school lunch to nearly 70,000 children and creating local sources of sustainable food production. This project is helping to fulfill SDG Goal 2, which is focused on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture.

In the education sector, Planet Aid is helping train thousands of new primary school teachers every year across sub-Saharan Africa and in India, where there has been a significant deficit of available teachers. This work is helping achieve SDG Goal 4, which seeks to ensure inclusive, equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

A third example is Planet Aid’s support of community development initiatives that are making clean water and latrine facilities environment available to villages in many underdeveloped areas. This is congruent with SDG Goal 6, which is aimed at making clean water and improved sanitation available to all.

We are proud to be a part of the global effort to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, and look toward the next 15 years with renewed optimism and commitment. We know that our success in the future will rely, as it has in the past, on the gracious support of so many people. Without them none of what we do would be possible.  A heartfelt thank you to you all.

  

    Yours in development, 

    Ester Neltrup,  President 

See Our Year in Review