The Garment Project is a non-profit that aims to empower women recovering from an eating disorder by providing them with new clothing individualized for their healthy bodies & lifestyles.
Over 20 million women in the U.S. suffer from eating disorders. Only one in 10 is as fortunate as Erin Drischler was in receiving treatment, which can cost up to $30,000 per month.
After 14 years with an eating disorder & multiple treatment attempts, Drischler realized that there needed to be a healthy & positive way for eating disordered patients to transition back into their daily lives with a wardrobe that made them feel confident. Because so much of a woman’s eating disorder revolves around her weight, it is best practice for the treatment teams to keep size & weight information hidden from patients. And going shopping, trying on multiple sizes & being surrounded by mirrors is a vulnerable & ultimately intolerable experience for too many women that early in their recovery.
Treatment teams don’t have the time or resources to help patients nearing the end of their stay pick out clothes from online retailers & exchange items that don’t fit. Sizing information should be removed before any items are tried on, which violates most return policies. So Erin, like thousands of others, was stuck with a closet full of clothes that didn’t fit her body or soul.
Drischler’s project Garment will empower the lives of women in recovery from an eating disorder by providing them with clothing that fits their new, healthy bodies. Garment will remove all size information on apparel in our inventory. When a woman is nearing the end of her inpatient stay, her treatment team will communicate size & style information to Garment. She is then able to pick items from a secure webpage that Garment has curated specifically for her. Any unwanted items can be shipped back in a pre-paid box.
Garment is first in providing a healthy & empathetic solution to overcoming one of the first obstacles women will face in the early stages of their recovery.
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