St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria (SVDPV), also known as Vinnies Victoria, has appointed Keep Left to oversee public relations and social media for its retail offering. Vinnies Victoria, with a network of over 100 shops across the state, is capitalising on the growing trend of thrifting and pre-loved fashion.

Charlie Spendlove, Vinnies Victoria EGM for brand and commercial, highlights the increasing popularity of thrifting, "Thrifting is the new sustainable dopamine hit for style hunters everywhere. Once a niche trend, pre-loved fashion has gone mainstream as we saw at this year’s Brownlow when Dee Salmin turned her year 12 formal dress into a skirt!"

A study by RMIT University found Australians aged 18-to-34 are more likely to buy second-hand. Last year, Vinnies Victoria saw a 34.7% increase in customers, with over one million additional people visiting their stores.

"Keep Left’s experience delivering engaging integrated strategies that build on cultural moments made this an easy decision. I’m confident this partnership will take our retail offering to the next level," Spendlove said.

Keep Left will develop an integrated PR and social media strategy, including design and asset creation and social training for staff. Client Partner Tiffany Simon will lead PR and social for Vinnies Victoria.

"Sustainability and the circular economy are becoming increasingly important to Australian consumers and we’re looking forward to elevating the Vinnies Victoria retail brand as it goes from strength to strength. It’s an exciting opportunity to leverage the power of an integrated owned and earned approach while tapping into a growing trend linked to the important conversation about values-aligned shopping and sustainability," Simon said.