WHAT IS TIACS/TradeMutt?
When carpenter Daniel Allen lost one of his best mates to suicide, he and his apprentice decided to take action. Their outside-the-box solution was to enter the world of tradie fashion and use funky, high-visibility workwear to start conversations about mental health and take a proactive approach to suicide prevention by providing early intervention support. It’s an inspiring story that reminds us that there is no one way to make a difference in the world and that great loss can, at times, inspire great good. Daniel Allen is a carpenter by trade and the cofounder of the social impact workwear brand TradeMutt and counselling service TIACS.
Dan met his business partner Ed Ross on a Brisbane building site in 2014 when Ed became Dan’s apprentice, and the pair became best mates. Dan lost a close friend to suicide in 2015, and he realised the trades industry in Australia had two issues: first, talking about mental health was way too serious. Second, ordinary Aussies don’t know where to go to seek support.
In 2018 the boys launched TradeMutt — a social impact work brand for tradies by tradies. TradeMutt’s funky workwear takes a fun, light-hearted, and colourful approach to normalising daily mental health conversations.
In June 2020, the boys launched TIACS — a free, early-intervention mental health support service for blue-collar workers. In its first two years alone, TIACS has supported over 12,000 Aussies by providing free professional counselling services at a market value of $2m.
This was the birth of TradeMutt.
TradeMutt's focus is to be a social enterprise workwear company by tradies for tradies. To make funky, eye-catching workwear designed to start conversations (TIACS, This Is A Converstaion Starter) about mental health making an invisible issue impossible to ignore.
TradeMutt’s purpose is to address social issues through innovative solutions. The primary social issue that we address through our product and content is mental health however, we also proudly support initiatives that address disability employment and inmate upskilling through our supply chain.
VISION
TradeMutt has a vision to be the biggest social impact workwear brand in the world by making the process of buying into social impact - a field which is notoriously hard to buy into in a meaningful and/or personal way, easy to do.
HOW?
TradeMutt say they will achieve this vision by providing world class consumer experiences, powered by innovation in the areas of product, platform, service, education and community, AND, are willing to disrupt.
Dan“Towards the end of 2015, everything for me came to a grinding halt. I was floored by the news that one of my best mates had tragically and unexpectedly taken his own life."
TradeMutt
Why get into TradeMutt workwear?
- You buy a workshirt.
In TradeMutt workwear, you look great, feel great, and do great. - TradeMutt donates 50% of our profits to TIACS.
TIACS provides free mental health counselling for tradies, truckies, farmers, rural, and blue collar workers, and the people that love them. Just text or call 0488 846 988. - You wear your workshirt on site.
By wearing your TradeMutt shirt to work, you're sending a message that you're making the invisible issue of tradie mental health impossible to ignore. - Your shirt starts conversations.
The peer-to-peer effect of conversation starting TradeMutt workwear is bringing down social and cultural barriers that stop tradies from talking about how they're really doing. - Have a chat, lift the pocket flap, scan the QR code
Lifting the pocket flap on your workshirt (pictured) and scanning that code gives you or whoever you're talking to access to TIACS right away and it means you don't need all the answers. - Access TIACS for free.
That's what TIACS is there for. Hard questions, tough conversations, open and honest yarns about what's going on that's getting to you that you can't talk to your mates about. - Tell ya mates about it.
The more people talk to their mates about TIACS, the more people use the service, and the more tradies we can help.
How many people have Trade Mutt helped through TIACS?
Verified data shows thatr TradeMutt has made a significant impact since getting started.
- 4.490 Clients supported
The number of clients your funding has assisted TIACS to support. - 37% First-Time callers
The percentage of TIACS callers that have never contacted a mental health provider before. - 3,664 Hours of Conversation Funded
The total number of mental health phone support hours your funding has facilitated. - $789,200 Market Value of services
The total number of mental health phone support hours your funding has facilitated.
What happens when you wear a TradeMutt shirt?
The initial thing about wearing a TradeMutt shirt is that you're sending a message to everyone around you that you're up for a conversation and you take on responsibility to act with authenticity, empathy, and to take a non-judgmental approach to conversation.
What happens when you spot someone wearing a TradeMutt shirt?
You will start a conversation, make a friend, and build an instant connection because you know you have shared values.
What happens if you don’t have a TradeMutt shirt?
Join the community. Buy TradeMutt workwear and start conversations about mental health to make an invisible issue impossible to ignore.
To show our support to TradeMutt and TIACS, Festool are donating $10 of every Plunge Saw sold from our selected range for November 2023. See the selected saws below, buy one (or more) and know that you are helping a great cause!
