Spring Cleaning Is Here - How to Donate Your Pre-Loved T-Shirts
Your worn-out tees can provide meaningful work for survivors of human trafficking, help reduce environmental waste, and have a new life as one of our fashionable products.
It’s that time of year again. Sigh. Spring Cleaning. Time for us all to put a pause on our binge-watching marathons and begin dusting and organizing.
When going through your old clothes and bagging up your faded, workout t-shirt with slightly noticeable sweat stains and ten-year-old tee from high school that has more than a few holes, be conscious of where you take them to be donated. At Rethreaded, every single t-shirt that is donated to us goes back into our warehouse and provides meaningful work to survivors of human trafficking. Not a single scrap goes to waste, meaning nobody has to feel guilty about donating that bachelorette trip t-shirt that hangs at the back of their closet.
We make it as easy as possible for our donors to drop off their tees. Stop by our retail store Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 AM to 5 PM with your collection of t-shirts in hand. Our retail associates will sort through your items to ensure they are made from cotton, either 100% or a blend, and weigh the accepted items. Once they have been weighed in, our associates will ask you to fill out a quick, informational form so that we can write a physical donation receipt for your records. Unfortunately, we cannot send out electronic receipts, so make sure to grab it before you leave.
Whether shirts are brand new, only worn once, or are almost unrecognizable, we want it. For companies who may have ordered too many shirts for a fundraiser or group event, we’ve got the capacity to take the unused shirts in bulk. If you only have one or two old shirts and feel like it’s not enough to come in and donate, don’t fret. We’ll happily take smaller donations of one or two shirts.
Are members of your organization, church, or social group looking for a way to give back to their community? Help organize a t-shirt drive in which all donations come to us! These drives can provide the chance for organizations to make larger charitable donations and give members more opportunities to connect with their neighbors. Organizations that have already helped organize drives include Amazon, Crowley, Celebration Church, Bolles, and many more.
While other donation centers may be forced to throw out a large majority of their donations due to inundation and subpar quality, we make sure that every inch of fabric is put to good use by reworking and crafting all the materials into many of our products.
T-shirts fuel two different departments of our company, production and operations. After being processed in the retail store, our tees will be further sorted by size, color, and fabric and then cut into scraps. The production department uses these scraps for a variety of products such as filling for our ottomans and our iconic Grace Scarf. Survivors receive training on how to craft these products by hand and are able to fulfill any orders that come through our store.
The operations department precisely cuts the t-shirts into industrial cleaning rags that are then purchased by companies. The companies that purchase rags are able to use 100% of the supply they purchase from us, whereas previously they may have only been able to use around 60%. With this new demand for industrial cleaning rags, we have been able to expand our operations department, which means more employment opportunities for survivors.
No matter which department your t-shirt ends up in, it will not go to waste. It is one of our goals to use every piece of what is donated, with no scrap ending up in a landfill. But more importantly, it is our goal to provide complete restoration to survivors. Each shirt donated allows for a woman to have meaningful work that in turn gives her a choice for her future.
Your tee can make such a positive impact, if you decide to give it a new life. But we won’t blame you if some tees are too sentimental to part with, even with their stretched-out collars.
Where: 515 E 9th Street Jacksonville, FL 32206
When: Tuesday – Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM; Not open on bank and public holidays.
Why: To help empower, employ, and provide services to survivors of human trafficking.
Have any additional questions for our team?
Call (904) 438-8109 or email info@rethreaded.com