Give It Second Life: Cricut and Salvos Stores Launch
Cricut®, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRCT) the creative platform company and Salvos Stores, the retail arm of The Salvation Army Australia, have partnered to launch ‘DIY July Edit’, a month-long social initiative encouraging Australians to give everyday items a second life and comes at a time when cost of living is at an all-time high. From upcycled furniture finds to transformed fashion pieces, DIY July Edit challenges the country’s throwaway culture by putting creativity, community, and circularity at its centre.
As part of this social initiative, content creators from across Australia will lead the way, sourcing donated furniture, art, materials, and décor from their local Salvos Stores, then customise their finds with a Cricut cutting machine to create unique gifts or keepsakes across three themes: wedding edit, home edit, and kids’ room edit. Throughout July, participants are encouraged to visit their nearest Salvos Stores 400+ store locations, choose preloved items such as clothing, homewares, or furniture, and share its transformation on social media — showing how one person’s discarded item can become another’s design statement.
The launch of the DIY July Edit Initiative today at Salvos Stores Tempe showcased just how easy it is to repurpose preloved items donated to Salvos Stores and be given a new lease on life with a Cricut machine and a little imagination! From a complete kid’s room makeover to wedding signage and guest gifts, easy renter friendly decorating and organisation solutions re-purposed and more. Creators and consumers alike are encouraged to get creative in July with preloved Salvos Stores items, making old glassware into personalised one-of-a-kind wedding gifts for guests and repurposing used frames into keepsakes.
An example of this is the DIY trend to find a vintage painting and re-purpose it as a couple’s wedding welcome sign. Post-wedding, it can be hung on the wall as a keepsake/memento of the special day, or you can remove the vinyl and re-donate it to Salvos Stores or re-sell it. See here.
Australia’s Disposable Culture
The timing of DIY July Edit could not be more critical. Australia is in the grip of a consumption crisis, and the data paints a confronting picture:
Fast Fashion
- Australia is now the world’s #1 consumer of textiles per capita — surpassing the United States — with the average Australian buying 56 new items of clothing each year.
- Australia discards 6,000 kg of textiles every 10 minutes — that’s 864,000 kg of textile waste every single day.
Fast Furniture
Australia generates 30,000 tonnes of commercial furniture waste each year — 95% of which ends up in landfill.
- Households discard nearly 50,000 tonnes of wooden furniture at the kerbside annually — equivalent to 800,000 three-seater sofas, 1.65 million dining tables, or 6.85 million chairs.
- Australia’s furniture market is valued at $11.34 billion, yet the rise of ‘fast furniture’ is driving an unsustainable cycle of buy-and-discard.*
The Bigger Picture
- Over 63% of Australians say they prefer brands committed to sustainability — yet purchasing behaviour continues to outpace intention.
- Sydney’s landfill is on track to reach capacity by 2030, with the fashion and furniture industries major contributors to the crisis.***
“We have reached a point where we simply cannot keep buying more and discarding faster. Our DIY July Edit is about showing Australians that the answer isn’t always something new, it’s often something waiting to be rediscovered. Salvos Stores has been part of Australia’s circular economy for over a century, and this partnership connects a new generation of conscious creators to our enduring mission,” said Sarah Knop, General Manager – Customer and Strategy, Salvos Stores.
The DIY July Edit initiative is designed to be accessible, inspiring, and community driven. Participants at any skill level are welcome to take part:
- Visit any Salvos Stores location to pick up a preloved fashion, homewares, or furniture piece.
- Transform it using creative techniques: customising, upcycling, painting, restyling etc.
- Share the before-and-after journey on social media using #DIYJulyEdit and #MakeitwithCricutANZ, tagging @SalvosStores and @Cricut_anz.
- Explore tutorials, tips, and creative inspiration throughout July on Cricut and Salvos Stores social channels.
- Join the conversation — swap ideas, celebrate transformations, and be part of a growing community choosing creativity over consumption.
- There will be a Cricut and Salvos Stores prize pack for the most skillful repurpose.
“Preloved items are the starting point for something original, personal, and made with intention. Cricut was built on the belief that anyone can be creative with the right tools. We’ve seen the trend for personalisation and customisation leading to an increase in DIY repurposing, and DIY July Edit with Salvos Stores is the perfect canvas for bringing that creativity to life,” said Nicola Dow Smith, Regional Director, Cricut.
Better for your budget and better for the planet
With cost-of-living pressures mounting, our DIY July Edit also makes compelling financial sense. A preloved furniture piece from Salvos Stores can be transformed into a statement item for a fraction of the cost of buying new. An afternoon of creativity can yield something worth far more, to the maker, and to the planet.
Beyond the individual savings, every item repurposed through this initiative reduces demand for new production, keeps textiles and materials out of landfill, and supports The Salvation Army’s community programs across Australia.
Join the Movement
DIY July Edit runs throughout July 2026.
Find your nearest Salvos Stores at salvosstores.com.au and follow along at @SalvosStores and @Cricut_anz. Share your transformation using #DIYJulyEdit.
About the Author
Alex Novus While not travelling, reading, gaming, watching films AND writing reviews and articles, Alex loves exploring the shops of Melbourne searching for classic pop culture trinkets.
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