Bra-vo: Virgin Australia Kiwi flight attendant's aid mission for Fijian women

Virgin Australia flight attendant Cassy Appleton with some of the thousands of bras for women in Fiji. Photo / Glenn Hunt

Cassy Appleton's New Year resolution was to do something worthwhile.

The Christchurch-based Virgin Australia flight attendant wanted to do something beyond the standard, losing weight, stopping smoking or drinking more water.

''My New Year's resolution was to become more charitable - my current drive is to collect bras for the women of Fiji.''

On Monday she'll start handing out more than 4000 bras she's collected through a social media campaign, notices in Virgin Australia crew rooms around the country and word of mouth. The parcels, weighing 350kg, will be flown to Fiji by the airline.

Appleton does regular trips to the country as part of trans-Tasman and Pacific services for Virgin Australia, where she's been working for the past two and a half years.

In Fiji the minimum wage is about $F2.30 wages ($1.64) an hour - and bras are scarce.

''Bras are hard to find in Fiji and they can be half a week or a week's wages.''

She will distribute the bras all over Fiji herself with in-country contacts she has made with the endorsement of aid organisation Care Australia - which is a Virgin Australia partner.

''To learn about the minimum wage and living conditions does pull on your heart strings a bit - their children come before luxuries. It's nice to provide them with something that makes them feel good.''

For those lucky enough to own a bra (the majority of which were second-hand) they'll wear them for self-confidence regardless of condition, comfort or correct sizing. This could cause some minor health issues and expensive doctor's visits. Appleton said she wanted to make it easy for Kiwi women to donate something that they already had.

''We all have a bra in a drawer that we haven't worn for however long that we could easily donate to someone else.''