Our 7th Birthday Blog

Sound the music, gather the balloons and get ready to celebrate because we’re turning seven!

Christmas might be around the corner but that’s not the only thing we’re celebrating this month! We are so excited to welcome this seventh year of OutsideIn, and we can’t wait to see what it holds.

But before we look ahead, we thought we’d take a moment to look back, to reflect on the journey so far and to say a huge thank you to you for helping us get here.

At OutsideIn, we have three key pillars which help form the foundation of everything we do.

The first of these pillars, and the heart behind everything that we do, is none other than our purpose.

Purpose:

Everything we do revolves around our mission to help people experiencing homelessness, through our WOSO giving model. Our purpose is why we exist and what keeps us going. 

Even as a Belfast-based business, we’ve seen this purpose reach places all around the world through our Giving Items—from our local community here in Belfast to neighbouring places like England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, to distant cities like New York and Los Angeles, and far-away countries like South Africa, Greece, Ukraine and more. It has been so exciting to see this evolve and grow over the years, allowing more Giving Partners which, in turn, helps more people.

But this wouldn’t be possible without you—the fuel behind this purpose and the ones who make our Wear One, Share One giving model possible. As you probably already know, our Wear One, Share One model ensures that with every item you purchase from OutsideIn, essential clothing is donated to someone experiencing homelessness.

Over the last seven years the way Wear One, Share One has worked has changed as we’ve we’ve changed; however, its commitment to use every purchase to help people in need has remained the same. Through Wear One, Share One, over 205,000* essential clothing items have been donated to people in need across the globe.

*As of November 2023

Sometimes this number can become just a figure, but when we hear back from our Giving Partners about how your donations have helped them, this number becomes a person who’s a bit warmer, a bit of hope given, a little dignity restored, and people who know there’s others out there who care. So, while it’s a great number—it’s so much more than that.

Just like the products you buy have improved each year, we’ve also taken the time to ensure that our Giving Items, what you donate with every purchase, are improving too. All of our Giving Items are designed and manufactured from scratch, using feedback from our Giving Partners and their service-users to help inform what these designs look like, feel like, fit like and more.

It has been a wild ride watching our purpose evolve over the years and we are so thankful for your support that has pushed it to where it is today. There is still so much work to be done, but we are more excited about the next seven years of purpose than ever before!

Learn more about our purpose here.

Product:

It’s crazy to look back at where we started and to see where we are now. We haven’t always had a line of Fleeces, Poms, Beanies, Caps, Sweatshirts, Hoodies, T-Shirts, Socks, Kids Headwear…(you get the point). Rather, as we’ve grown up, so have our products. Seven years ago we started with a Pom (for you) and a Beanie (for our Wear One, Share One). 

But here we are, seven years later, designing items from scratch, screen printing and embroidering some in-house, creating our own product tech and bringing our wild ideas to life. It’s been amazing to watch our Fashion Team grow and to see them put their expertise to work to produce the products you love.

Beyond what you love, it’s been incredible to watch them spend months perfecting our Giving Items too, listening to the needs of those we help so that the Giving Items you donate actually make a difference.

This year our Fashion Team created our first-ever Kids Beanie. Not only is this a Beanie you can purchase for your little ones, but with every purchase, the same Kids Giving Beanie is given to a child in need, making it possible for kids to help kids! They also designed our very own Giving Underwear. This is a HUGE step forward for us as this is one of the most highly requested items among our Giving Partners.

Our Fashion Team brought this to life in two designs, Briefs and Boxers, and after countless tests, trials and team try-ons, we finally found the perfect unisex fit for both. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg and there’s already so much in-store for next year! From brand-new products and design innovation to Giving Items that continue to help those they were created for, we cannot wait to show you it all!

People:

But none of this would be possible without the people who make this happen, including you.

At OutsideIn there are three groups of people who make our mission possible:

1. Our Team,

2. Our Customers,

3. Our Giving Partners.

Our Team:

Without our team we simply couldn’t bring all the big ideas we have to life. From our Marketing Team to our Fashion Team, our Production Team to our Ops Team, our Social Impact Team to our Finance Team, our Events Team and our Senior Management Team alike—every single person at OutsideIn plays a crucial role in keeping the cogs moving and we are so thankful for everyone, those who’ve been here from the start and those who’ve joined along the way, that has been a part of our ever-growing family. 

So, thank you so much for coming alongside OutsideIn and our Giving Partners to help bring some hope to those experiencing homelessness. 

As we celebrate this birthday, know that we are celebrating you too and all the support you’ve given us each step of the way.

Our Customers:

You, our customers, are also a part of this family and without you, our Wear One, Share One simply would not exist. We are so grateful for how you’ve supported us each year and how you’ve worn your OutsideIn items with pride! Whether you’re climbing a mountain, surfing big waves or searching the city for the best coffee spots, we love seeing you repping your Fleeces and Poms across the globe!

So, thank you so much for believing in us, from a wee Belfast business back then to a growing company with big ambitions, the way you have and for making our mission to help people experiencing homelessness possible. 

Learn more about our Wear One, Share One here.

Our Giving Partners:

Our Giving Partners—the people who put the products you donate into the hands of those who need them most, the G.O.A.Ts, MVPs, OGs and legends, these are the heroes we are lucky to call partners. They’re the ones on the ground, working with and helping those in need, making sure that every Giving Item reaches someone in need.

They make the ‘Share One’ to your ‘Wear One’ possible and we are so thankful for all the support they have given to us, whether near or far, and our mission over the last seven years.

Learn more about our Giving Partners here.

“It is so exciting to see what once started out as a dream turn seven years old. Time has flown by so fast! I am so proud of the OutsideIn Team, so grateful for our Giving Partners, and so thankful for our customers. You bring our purpose to life. Thank you for seven years of continued support in making our mission to help people experiencing homelessness possible. From customers who tell their friends about our mission to our Giving Partners who hand out each item to someone in need to each person who plays a part in bringing everything we do to life, we really couldn’t do this without you—in fact, we wouldn’t want to.”

David Johnston, Founder of OutsideIn.

Find out more about our story here.