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What local jobs and start-ups could we create from textiles now going to waste?
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"GoodWear" Bulk Textile and Craft Store
Updated: Sep 13, 2013 Steph W1
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A sustainable, local, job-making, community-building solution to this problem is clearly to have Goodwill process and resell the unwanted textiles themselves.

We should value this "waste" as a textile and notion source.

The steps Goodwill can take to process the textiles are the following:

(1) Launder the unsellable material to get rid of any grime.

(2) Employees pop buttons, rip out zippers, and cut out usable pieces of fabric.

(3) Repackage the notions and fabric for sale.

(4) Separate all unusable pieces into natural and synthetic fabrics and cut up for sale as a soft goods filler.

(5) Partner with local artists and designers to have them use the textiles for projects and sell them in store.

(6) Incorporate fabric/notion sales into Goodwill stores, or open a satellite craft store fabric outlet called (ex:) "GoodWear".

The trash volume is negligible, the creative community will grow, and Goodwill will have a more sustainable business.


More Info:
Bulk Textile and Craft Store for Goodwill: Proposed Plan for Goodwill Textile Waste
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This project is made possible by the City and County of San Francisco, SPUR, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services and the Department of Technology
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