At my former job as a preschool teacher assistant, I wore shirts (style of my choice) embroidered with the school logo. Of course, now that I'm not working there any more I have no use for them, so last week I finally decided to get rid of them. There were about 20 tops--sleeveless, short sleeved, and long sleeved. Tee shirts, button-downs, sweaters, and fleece. I emailed one of my co-workers to ask if she wanted them. She let me know that with the new school year (which just started) they were using a different design on the shirts, and she didn't need mine.
Since the shirts had the preschool logo, I figured I shouldn't just donate them to a thrift shop; the school wouldn't want just anyone wearing them around. Just to be sure, I checked with the director, who verified my suspicions. She suggested I just throw them away. However, I'm trying to reduce my ecological footprint, so I didn't want to toss them and have them end up in a landfill. What to do with them? If I cut the logo off could I donate them?
This morning as I was headed to the grocery store, I stopped in at a thrift store that was on the way and asked the manager about my shirts. Much to my surprise, I found out they wanted them! When you donate clothes that a thrift store can't put on the shop floor, they sell them to rag sorters, which turns into another revenue source for their programs.
Back at home, I cut around the logo on each shirt in a haphazard circle, put them in a bag, and attached a note indicating the shirts were for recycling so they didn't have to waste time looking through the bag. When I went out again in the afternoon I dropped the bag off at the donation center. It's a win/win. I get to feel good that I did the right thing, and they'll get a bit of money from my discards.
good for you Kathy! It did seem so wasteful to just throw them out.
ReplyDeleteYou had 20 of those shirts? Wow. I taught for 21 years at the inner city high school and I had 8 shirts when I retired. A few of them were so worn that they just needed to be thrown away, but the others, I gave to the thrift store. The high school is a major name in town (sort of like the university) and people would be delighted to have a shirt from the place.
ReplyDeleteBut 20? That still seems extreme.
What a fantastic idea, you're so resourceful Kathy!
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I've seen shirts at our thrift stores that have store logos on them. I always think that they will never sell! They should do what your store does!
ReplyDeleteAnd..I bet you have a ton more room in your closet!
ReplyDeleteThat's fabulous! What a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you could do that - Cool :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that was possible. Cool!!
ReplyDelete