She quit her top finance job to solve the clothing waste crisis...and created 8 000 jobs
Tracey Chambers, a former finance executive at Woolworths, left her corporate career to address the clothing waste crisis in South Africa. Her initiative has since grown to create 8,000 jobs, focusing on repurposing excess retail inventory.
Why it matters
The story highlights the intersection of corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and economic empowerment in the retail sector.
This story is part of the series SA Success Stories : Origin stories of successful businesses, NGOs and individuals, proudly sponsored by Old Mutual Wealth.
From the outside, she was the pinnacle of success. She was one of three heads of finance at Woolworths, her children were in the best schools in Cape Town, and she was on her way to the top.
But something had been eating at her for a while. She loved what she did, but felt she barely saw her children.
And in the back of her mind, she always wondered how the many single or unemployed moms who weren’t in her position were able to give their best to their families.
“My children were being raised by an amazing woman called Beauty – who was one of the inspirations for what I do now – and an au pair.”
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