Building Clothing Drive

Back in September, I organized a clothing drive for my building. Setting it up was no small feat! First, I had to find an organization that would pick up the clothes once collected. After consulting some neighbors, I narrowed it down to either Wearable Collections, or Re-fashioNYC, which is NYC's official clothing reuse program, in partnership with Housing Works.

After hearing back from each of them, the choice of which to partner with was clear. Wearable Collections got back to me within a few days, and we began discussing the pickup options Wearable Collections offers. When I heard back from Re-fashioNYC, I got a form email, saying that I could confirm my interest in the program by sending an email to a specific address. Then, I would receive another form email in four to six months, with details of how to participate in the program. That was a bit longer than I was willing to wait. So Wearable Collections it was!

Next, I had to get approval from my building's co-op board. I didn't think getting approval would be too difficult, as most boards are primarily concerned with building costs. Since the program is free, it was an easy sell. But there were definitely logistical issues to consider like, when will the drive begin and end, where will all the clothing be collected, how will the clothing be moved out of the building, how our building staff would be affected, how will it be promoted, etc. All of these things could impact quality of life for building residents. Luckily, I work closely with a board member on our building website committee. She was my contact and advocate with the board. All of the details were worked out pretty smoothly.

I made a flyer to promote the clothing drive. I relied heavily on Wearable Collections own verbiage and branding. The last hurdle was to make a bin in which to collect the clothing. The building staff were nice enough to give me some large cardboard boxes collected from our regular recycling efforts. But I had to construct a makeshift bin out of them. Over the course of a week, the building donated over 1,000 pounds of clothes! The rep from Wearable Collections noted that it was a good haul for a 280 unit building. It felt great to be part of a communal effort that diverted a bunch of stuff that otherwise may have ended up in a landfill. At the same time, it created more space in my neighbor's closets. A true Square Foot Crunch double win!

The Flyer:




The Bin, filled to capacity: