From March to June 2022, fourth-year B Consumer Science Clothing Retail Management students in the Department of Consumer and Food Science at the University of Pretoria participated in the Clothes to Good (CTG) community project to gain insight into the intricacies of dealing with post-consumer textile waste and, even more importantly, to learn how it can be put to good use. These outcomes formed part of their fourth-year Textiles (411) module that is focused on sustainability and new developments in the clothing and textiles industry.

CTG, based in Centurion, Gauteng, is a textile recycling and disability empowerment organisation that has over the past few years sourced immense volumes of post-consumer clothing, shoes, fashion accessories and other textile waste from schools, corporate volunteer programmes and H&M stores to work toward the greater good of the local community in various ways. At their recycling facility in Centurion, items are sorted and categorised into several recycling streams by a highly competent team of people, many of whom are disabled. During weekly site visits, students under the guidance of CTG team members participated in the sorting of donated post-consumer textile waste into various recycling streams. The recycling streams include the reselling and repair of clothing, upcycling, downcycling and shredding of textiles for alternative end uses. Textile items that are still in good condition are sold, for example, to micro-businesses that are owned by mothers of children with disabilities. These moms then resell the items to their communities in order to generate an income for their families. Items that require repairs or are somewhat worn are donated to CTG’s non-profit partners. Through their Enabling Denim programme, CTG also upcycles denim waste into early childhood development resources, soft toys and a variety of homeware products. Textile waste that cannot be used in the aforementioned recycling streams is either converted into rags or is finely shredded to be used as stuffing for the mattress, insulation and motor industries. Funds generated through these various recycling streams are then channelled toward other social impact projects that focus specifically on assisting vulnerable children in low-resourced early childhood development programmes and empowering people with disabilities through skills development and training.

At the end of the semester, students were able to submit proposals for streamlining and extending the activities of CTG based on their exposure to on-site activities and experiences. These proposals were well received by CTG’s founding members and staff with a clear intent to further collaborate with the students on future projects. Students’ reflections on their weekly site visits and experiences were also truly inspiring and highlighted the importance of collaboration and teamwork, as well as their realisation of how, in their future work in the clothing and textile industry, they can contribute to reducing problems surrounding post-consumer textile waste and promote the pursuit of sustainability in the fashion industry. 

Reference
Clothes to Good (CTG), 2022. About us. https://clothestogood.com/about-us. Accessed 15 October 2022.