Bring Your Old Bras To DONATE. SUPPORT. RECYCLE” Neubodi Bra Drive 2017 In Conjunction Of International Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Neubodi, a Malaysian lingerie specialist brand official launched its month-long “DONATE. SUPPORT. RECYCLE” Bra Drive campaign which will run until 5 November, in conjunction with the International Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Drop-off unwanted or used bras in our “Bra Banks” at any Neubodi stores nationwide and we will donate gently-used items to victims of sex trafficking, enabling their rehabilitation into society as they earn a livelihood selling second-hand bras. Beneficiaries of the “DONATE” initiative are communities in Malaysia, Cambodia, Nepal, India and Africa including those in poverty for whom bras are sought-after essential item – providing comfort and self-esteem.

Keeping textile away from the landfills, bras not suited for donation will be collected by our strategic partner, Life Line Clothing Malaysia. Using proprietary technology, raw materials of bras such as spandex, nylon, metal wire and plastics will be converted into reusable solid fuel commonly used to power industrial boilers and generators. This “RECYCLE” initiative is Malaysia’s first activity of its kind.

The partnership between Breast Cancer Welfare Association Malaysia (BCWA) and Neubodi aims to increase public awareness that breast cancer is ‘gender blind’, and promote the importance of self-examination and early detection while raising funds for BCWA’s “Hospital Angels” programme. In this initiative, trained specialists will visit newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and help them learn to cope with the disease in an encouraging and positive environment. Funds are raised via Neubodi’s “Pedal Forward” cycling convoy that concluded this morning, and exclusive sales from its GO PINK collection during this launch weekend at 1 Utama Shopping Centre’s Ground Floor - Highstreet Concourse. Certain proceeds from the sales of Neubodi’s GO PINK collection will be donated to BCWA.

“As a leading lingerie brand in Malaysia, we can educate our customers and the public alike on societal issues that matter through memorable initiatives as part of our DONATE.SUPPORT.RECYCLE Bra Drive,” explained Ms Anne Tan, Director and Founder of Neubodi Holdings Sdn.Bhd. “While we continue to drive the awareness of breast health, breast cancer and importance of early detection, we also provide the chance for a better life for women in challenging circumstances via our Bra Bank collection. My team and I are so proud to be able to do this and of our long-term partnership with BCWA.”

The success of Neubodi’s DONATE. SUPPORT. RECYCLE Bra Drive campaign has been made possible with the support of strategic partners Excel SLA (M) Sdn.Bhd and 3 Gorgeous Network. Neubodi’s Bra Drive is being held for a fifth year and has to-date collected some six tonnes of bras. For ‘pioneering women welfare initiatives’, Neubodi Holdings Sdn.Bhd received KPWKM’s CSR Malaysia Award (SME Category) in July 2017.

According to the National Cancer Institute Malaysia, about 5,000 Malaysian women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and nearly half of those are under 50-years of age. With breast cancer being a “Gender Blind” disease, Neubodi wanted to use this opportunity to highlight that 1 out 1,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and less than 72% of men recover from the disease as doctor’s visit is made when symptoms are more severe - at which point the cancer may have already spread.

To further drive awareness amongst 1Utama shoppers, BCWA’s mobile clinic - equipped with early detection and support tools for clinical breast examination, and specialised booth offering counselling sessions on breast self-examination using customised silicone models, have been set up. Tropicana Medical Centre’s oncology specialists and health professionals are also on-hand to facilitate public understanding on breast cancer and conduct on-site basic health screening.

In officiating the launch ceremony on Saturday, Mr. Shukri Abdullah, Deputy General, National Population and Family Development Board under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), congratulated Neubodi and BCWA’s partnership and commended them on their efforts to educating the public on breast cancer and breast health.

Highlight of the day included the official cheque donation to BCWA of over RM60,000 from Neubodi’s “Pedal Forward” initiative. In the morning, over 100 cyclists journeyed 18km, having had personally raised funds for a month prior to the event. Funds were collected via MyStart – a crowdfunding platform, making it Malaysia’s first programme of its kind.

“BCWA is heartened by the community-focused Neubodi Bra Drive for it helps us reach a wider audience in our combined efforts to tackle breast cancer,” elaborated Ranjit Kaur, President, BCWA. “Such public and private support enables us to continue with our mission to improve the quality of life for men and women with breast cancer to create a well-informed society about breast health and breast cancer.”

The launch event was attended by celebrities like Amber Chia, Agnes Wang, Carrie Lee, Jan Chin, and Lavin Seow, and public figures such as Puan Sri Dato’ Akmal who is also the Patron for Non-Communicable diseases, Alvin Lim - Malaysia’s first national paralympic handcyclist and two-time gold medallist and fashion designer Key Ng. Some of these personalities participated in the Pedal Forward cycle too. Neubodi’s public awareness programme, ending this weekend, is a family-affair with other event partners and mall tenants hosting activities range from flash mobs to makeover sessions to handicraft-making to push-pin art, conservation talks and photo booths.