Press Release
For Immediate Release
New one-stop Resources Matching Platform
gives unwanted goods a second life
GOODS-CO helps users donate second-hand items at fingertips
28 April 2022, Hong Kong Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong economy has contracted for three consecutive months. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January to March 2022 has significantly increased to 5%, with a surge of 0.5 percentage points compared to the rate in December 2021 to February 2022. The underemployment rate also increased from 2.3% in December 2021 to February 2022 to 3.1% in January to March 2022. Amid the economic downturn, the grassroots have to cope with a lack of anti-epidemic supplies and basic necessities, including home electronics, furniture, clothing, and baby care products.
Supported by The Hongkong Bank Foundation, St. James’ Settlement (“the Settlement”) has officially launched GOODS-CO, an one-stop resources matching online platform (“the Platform”) which enables users to share and receive second-hand goods through its mobile application anytime and anywhere. It promotes reuse of resources in the community by giving unwanted items a second life. The Platform will also provide delivery service, training and job opportunities for low-income families.
The Platform was officially launched on 21 April 2022. To celebrate the commencement, representatives from the Environment Bureau, HSBC and St. James’ Settlement gathered together to announce the kick-off of the Platform.
“St. James’ Settlement has launched a new one-stop resources matching platform, GOODS-CO, which makes good use of the technology to connect different resources from social welfare agencies and deprived groups to promote environmental sustainability and serve the community. I encourage you all to reduce waste at source and register in GOODS-CO platform”, said Kam-sing Wong, Secretary for Environment.
Luanne LIM, Chief Executive, Hong Kong, HSBC, said, “People in Hong Kong are known for their generosity and thoughtfulness but many of them are constantly looking for information of where and how they can donate. We are excited to partner with St. James’ Settlement again, using technology to connect donors to those in need in the local neighbourhood, empowering individuals to not only give but also ask for support. As one of the 10 projects supported by The Hongkong Bank Foundation 40th anniversary special donation, GOODS-CO aims to promote the use of preloved goods and items. We are confident that the mobile app will contribute to a sustainable future for both our community and environment.”
“The grassroots suffer from huge financial stress. The Settlement has always committed to easing their financial burden through different charity services. GOODS-CO offers an one-stop solution with a variety of high-quality choices of second-hand goods. It saves expenses for users and improves their quality of life. The Platform also provides job training and opportunities for families in need,” said Josephine Lee, Chief Executive Officer of St. James’ Settlement.
Over 1.65 million people live below the poverty line in Hong Kong, and they may lack money to replace their damaged household goods, meanwhile, as much as 10,809 tonnes of municipal solid waste are disposed daily. Considering the issue of resources misallocation, GOODS-CO has commissioned a research institute to conduct a study on the attitudes and behaviours towards second-hand goods among the underprivileged and social welfare organisations.
The study was conducted from January to April 2022. 2,000 low-income households and 81 social welfare organisations gave their views on their needs for second-hand goods over the past year. Among the low-income respondents who have received or used second-hand goods before, near 90% of them agreed that doing so can relieve their financial burden; close to 60% received 3.2 times more second-hand goods on average over the past year. Most of the goods are clothing, electrical appliances and furniture. The study also found that electrical appliances (29.9%), electronic devices (13.9%), and furniture (12%) were the most needed items of low-income households.
Strong Need for Delivery; One-stop Support Available at GOODS-CO
As for social welfare organisations, they had difficulties receiving second-hand goods. Insufficient storage space (95.6%), logistics issues (62.2%), and a lack of volunteers (44.4%) were reflected in the study. Meanwhile, more than 70% of the low-income respondents hoped that delivery could be arranged for the successfully matched second-hand goods. In view of this, our delivery team offers free service for eligible low-income users. The entire process, spanning giving, matching, contacting, and delivering, can be completed at once on the Platform. This reduces the time needed for matching and eases the pressure on storage and manpower. The technology-powered solution is expected to benefit more citizens and promote the culture of reusing second-hand goods.
Moreover, the Platform provides training and creates job opportunities (e.g., moving and basic goods repairment) for individuals with financial hardships. For the needy families, especially those inadequately housed, GOODS-CO offers support to improve their household conditions through subsidising maintenance expenses for cases referred by social workers.
District-based Priority Matching; Prioritize Second-hands Over New Purchases
GOODS-CO offers a “wishlist” feature to encourage users to prioritise second-hand goods over new purchases. This feature is expected to promote the reuse of second-hand resources in the community. The Platform categorises second-hand goods based on users’ demand: the goods mostly in need are displayed first. District-based priority matching is also available on the Platform for saving delivery costs, reducing carbon emissions, and facilitating transactions. The Platform is open to corporations, social welfare organisations and individual users, enabling the sharing of goods across sectors and facilitating effective matching.
In the spirit of “goods for good,” GOODS-CO calls for society to envision the future of second-hand goods, share available resources with those in need, and contribute to environmental protection. The GOODS-CO App is now available. Interested parties can download the App to experience the one-stop resources matching service. For more information, please visit https://goods-co.hk/.
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About GOODS-CO
GOODS-CO is an one-stop resources matching platform on which users can donate or receive goods. We encourage sharing usable resources and turning them into “Goods for good”. Our vision is to enable the delivery of available resources to the needy in Hong Kong by collaborating with existing and potential partners and individuals and making use of surplus resources, thereby promoting the habit of using second-hand goods and cultivating an environmentally-sustainable culture.
Website: https://goods-co.hk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodsco.hk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodsco.hk
Download GOODS-CO App
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/hk/app/goods-co/id1609752858?l=en
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sjs.goodsco
About The Hongkong Bank Foundation
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited established The Hongkong Bank Foundation in 1981 to spearhead the Bank’s charity efforts. The Foundation has supported over 10,000 projects over the last 40 years. It has grown to become one of the largest charitable foundations in Hong Kong’s business community. Since the start of the pandemic, the Foundation has made more than HKD170 million of charitable donations to the Hong Kong community. Support ranges from delivering immediate food and hygiene supplies to enabling longer-term recovery and nurturing future skills of disadvantaged communities.
Media Contact: St. James’ Settlement
Sara Lit
Senior Communications Officer
Tel: 2596 2715 / 6295 9397
Email: [email protected]
HSBC
Winna Chan
Communications (Asia)
Tel: 3945-3131
Email: [email protected]
