How We Give Back

Although Mannequin Madness is a small business, we strive to have a sizable positive impact on the communities around us. We don’t like to brag, but we feel it is appropriate to let the public know about our commitment to giving back.

1 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

The biggest (and least visible) contribution our company makes is the impact we have on the environment. As the largest mannequin recycling company in the US, we keep approximately 1 million pounds of mannequins from ending up in landfills every year.
 
Our efforts to support the retail industry reduce their environmental waste was recognized with a special achievement award from The Environmental Protection Agency and other organizations.

More about our mannequin recycling  here:

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2 SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT

When a mannequin is damaged, broken, and no longer able to function for its original purpose - that is, displaying clothing - we advocate repurposing it instead.

Our website & social media posts showcase the wide (and wild) variety of ways mannequins can be turned into DIY projects such as lamps, planters, tables, Dress Form Christmas Trees, and more.
 
Extending the life span of a product reduces waste, contributes to the circular economy and helps supply materials at discount prices for artistic projects. 

Our motto is "We make the world a little greener, one dummy at a time." 

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3 SOCIAL IMPACT

The majority of our employees and contractors are from marginalized communities and many are also over the age of 50.

We are proud to provide a consistent source of income for a segment of the population that is often underemployed. See our crew here:

 In 2020, when there was a strong social movement to support Black-owned businesses, we created the SFBayBlackBiz.com website. The website is a directory of all the Black Owned businesses in Northern California.

Previously, there was no such directory that encompassed Black-owned businesses of all industries and sizes, and businesses in unusual arenas such as ours.

We paid for all the website development and maintenance expenses and there was no charge to the business to be listed in the dictionary. Visit the website here:

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4 ECONOMIC IMPACT

Our showroom is located in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood, but the uniqueness of our business attracts shoppers from all over Northern California.

We’ve even had customers from out of the state come here when they were visiting the area. And a group of women from London came by to pick up mannequin parts on their way to Burning Man.

After shopping with us, our customers often patronize the businesses and restaurants nearby. While we can not quantify the economic impact our business makes to our area, we know it does.

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5 HAPPINESS IMPACT

We are actively involved in community engagement activities that provide joy to the participants through artistic expression.

In 2024 we committed to supporting SantaCon (the official charitable event, not the pub crawl). Initially this meant volunteering to be an admin of the Facebook Group page.

But our volunteer role quickly expanded to include organizing the costume contest, booking the carolers, creating a photo contest and developing and paying for a mobile app that listed Santa-friendly venues.

Read about why we decided to support SantaCon here.

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Another way we support joyful  community activities is  extending discounted rates for our flower crown headdress making class for selected non-profit organizations.

This allows event planners at libraries, museums, senior centers, youth camps, festivals and county fairs to offer this activity to their patrons for free.

As you can see, we have a variety of ways we give back to the community.

As a small business, we are unable to give millions of dollars away to our customers or offer our services for free.

But we also understand the concepts of intention and goodwill. We are confident that our collective efforts – quantifiable or not – make a difference in the world.

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