New effort aims to keep unsold clothing donations out of the landfill

In addition to Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries spokespersons, May invited Wesley Beisel, a second-year fashion design student at the University of Cincinnati, to speak on the topic of sustainability in the fashion industry.

Beisel is the student lead of the Sustainable Fashion Initiative (SSI), which originated at UC.

“I personally love to thrift…most of my closet is thrifted,” Beisel said, pointing to the need for sustainable initiatives because today's fashion industry is one of the largest global polluters, to include textiles and plastic packaging.

At UC, Beisel explained that fashion students are encouraged to consider the sustainability of a textile when undertaking a project. There is also a fabric recycling closet in the design studio and members of SSI sort the textiles for reuse.    

“Anything that’s 100% man-made is never the best choice. It might end up being more expensive but in the end it’s better,” says Beisel. 

The segment details the start to finish production of Goodwill donations, with administrators citing that 50-60% of what is donated is sellable at the retail stores.

Items that go to the outlet are deemed unsellable due to defects such as rips or missing buttons and are sold by the pound.

Listen to the interview.

Featured image at top by iStock photo/photobyphm.