We help Humboldt Non-profits, Libraries, Churches & Schools
Save thousands of Dollars in Garbage Costs
We divert 1.5 MILLION pounds of Textiles
& Usable Goods from Landfill Annually
We offer a free service to Humboldt non-profits, churches and schools. You donate your unwanted clothing to your favorite thrift store or rummage sale. They sell what they can. We process all the unwanted leftovers.
In addition to unwanted textiles, we sort and pack unwanted shoes, fashion accessories, metal kitchenware,
toys and clean stuffed animals. Our free textile recycling service saves local non-profits thousands of dollars annually and reduces local landfill an average of 1.5 million pounds annually of unwanted goods.
We collect, process and package over 40,000 pounds of unwanted, non-sellable goods from local non-profits every month. We fill an entire 48 foot truckload each month. Some of the unwanted goods are redistributed to
people in need in the U.S. and overseas; some textiles can be re-purposed into wiping rags or shredded for textile fiber that's used for a variety of purposes.
Our Salvage Goods Recycling Service is absolutely not financially sustainable by itself. The cost of warehouse space, equipment and most importantly paying the hard working folks in our warehouse, can not be generated
without our "better brand, second hand" retail operation. Please donate your clean, wearable clothing to
your favorite non-profit. We support them by processing all their usable but, non-sellable goods.
Most people are surprised by the volume of goods that we process for non-profits here in our local area.
1.5 million pounds annually is alot of stuff to process! Our store sales fund this service.
We are a very UNIQUE business, based on Values!
In order to pay our employees living wages plus all the other business costs
and provide free salvage goods recycling services to local nonprofits, churches and schools, we need strong sales in our second hand store.
To do that, we need to have plenty of the popular brands and styles on our racks.
We have learned through experience in these past 15+ years, that we can not fulfill the needs and wants
of our community if we rely on donations or if we buy clothing from the public.
Additionally, we are committed not to buy anything from other local thrifts, rummage sales or garage sales.
We want you ~ our community ~ to benefit from these thrifty venues.
So, how do we find the volume of goods that local folks ask for the most?
To keep our racks full, we have developed long term relationships with out-of-area pickers and a few large businesses that specialize in used clothing in bulk. That activity requires difficult to negotiate contracts in which we compete with other buyers in the US, Asia & Europe. Many of these businesses already have commitments to other buyers so its difficult to establish the contracts. However, if someone offers more than us
(and we can not pay the higher price), our contract dissolves.
In spite of the challenges,
we have a much greater selection of quality brands and styles for our community...
plus we do it with consciousness. You won't see us snatching up a deal at a yard sale.
We also do not sell online. High demand items can be sold for higher prices online with lower costs.
Instead, we have a store where you can find those better brands at a reasonable market driven price
and try them on first...and we have created 18 jobs committed to re-use...
and we significantly reduce landfill while saving non-profits thousands of dollars. Our business model is not about one fat cat at the top, its about many circular, transparent inter-relationships which considers others and the planet.
We do the best we can for all. We find the best we can for you, our community. We are proud of that!
When you shop at Eco-Groovy Deals, you are helping us fulfill our Mission Statement:
Create Local Jobs, Reduce Landfill, Serve the Community
Fashion Industry waste is the second largest planetary polluter, just behind Petroleum. Textile waste in landfill is immense. Growing cotton uses tons of water and causes massive pesticide run-off into our rivers and oceans. Despite growing awareness, the demand for new clothing has dramatically risen in the past decade. What can you do? Buying Second Hand really helps slow down overproduction. Fixing and upcycling textiles helps, too. When buying new clothing, consider the high quality better brands, especially those that use recycled fibers. When donating clothing to your favorite thrift, consider all they do for our community. Wash clothing & other items you donate. And yes, there's folks like us who process usable salvage goods. And yes, its a great service. But its not enough. There's still too much new production and waste that ends up in landfill worldwide.
We are proud to do what we do, but we are hopeful for greater change in the future. The consciousness of the human heart combined with brilliant ingenuity is at work. From grassroots groups who fix, re-use and re-purpose clothing to larger scale textile recycling for industrial use (shredding denim for insulation, etc) to a new technology that liquifies textiles to re-spin (like a spider) into stronger fiber which is rewoven into fabric...is all happening now. A brighter future for human life on earth depends on what we do today. Support businesses that create profit for People and the Planet. Thank you for shopping with us!