Walmart Foundation Funds Goodwill Circularity Initiative
Each year, Goodwill receives billions of pounds of donated goods, much of which is clothing. And while much of that clothing gets sold in the organization’s stores, some items are deemed ineligible for sale due to damage, wear or other defects.
In an effort to keep that leftover clothing out of landfills, Goodwill Industries has partnered with Accelerating Circularity to transform unsellable textile donations into recycling feedstock. And the initiative just got an influx of capital as the Walmart Foundation awarded Goodwill a $1.2 million grant to help fund the project.
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The funding will allow Goodwill and Accelerating Circularity to develop infrastructure and systems to produce post-consumer textile feedstock that meets recycler specifications, as well as provide training to workers for the sorting and feedstock process.
“This initiative with Goodwill Industries is an example of Accelerating Circularity’s unique role in creating new connections to mainstream the adoption of post-consumer textiles as raw materials,” said Sarah Coulter, director of operations and special projects for Accelerating Circularity. “Accelerating Circularity has led the design and implementation of this program, providing subject matter expertise, program management, relationship building, and training and tools development at the participating Goodwill locations.”
Twenty-five local Goodwill organizations are participating in the project, with Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area, Goodwill of the Finger Lakes, Goodwill Industries of Ontario Great Lakes, and Goodwill Industries of West Michigan leading the effort.
“We see an opportunity to advance our mission by supporting Goodwill’s effort to transform textiles destined for salvage into higher-value recycling feedstocks by sorting to spec, removing trims and other irritants, and aggregating sufficient volumes to support full commercialization of textile-to-textile systems,” said Karla Magruder, president and founder, Accelerating Circularity, which has gotten support from Gap and Target.
The initial participants in the program will model and test regional textile collaboration hubs that can be replicated across Goodwill’s national network, as well as at other organizations similar to Goodwill.
“Goodwill is focused on developing solutions for textiles that are scalable, circular and traceable, and we see textile-to-textile recycling as a key pathway for donations that are unwearable and at their end of life,” said Brittany Dickinson, director of sustainability at Goodwill Industries International. “Establishing regional Goodwill collaborations for textile circularity supports Goodwill’s role as a critical player in the circular economy and aligns with our organizational sustainability strategy.”
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