Frequently asked questions.

Yes, please wash and fully dry everything before you pack it up.

We do wash items that come in from op shops and charities, because donations often arrive at their door unwashed - and unwashed clothing is one of the top reasons items end up binned rather than resold. When you've cared enough to send us your clothes to steward, we trust you've washed and dried them first. That keeps our laundering allies running smoothly, so we can all do more good together.

Everything is sorted when it arrives. Items in good condition go to redistribution - passed on through community pathways, listed in our online shop or TradeMe shop, or shared with partner organisations. Useful parts of garments that can't be worn again - buttons, zips, denim and usable fabric - are recovered for crafters and volunteers, part of what we do. Anything made from suitable fibres that can't be reused becomes rags or is sent to Textile Products for recycling, where it's turned into new materials like Retex boards, mattresses and acoustic panels - their site shows the full range of products your textiles can become. Our preference is to use New Zealand based recycling wherever possible, but not every fabric type can be dealt with here - it's a big and diverse job. Where Textile Products can't currently take something but after. can, it's passed on to them and managed through their overseas recycling network, giving your textiles the best outcome we can find for every fibre.

Businesses and charities: get in touch first so we can plan the logistics properly, whether it's a one-off clear-out or an ongoing stream.

For individuals there isn't a way to send us textiles at the moment - our Rescue Bag is on hold. Join our mailing list and we'll let you know when it's back.

Not a public one - everything is arranged in advance. Businesses and charities can host a collection box or, for larger volumes, get in touch so we can work out the best way to collect. We're not able to take textiles from individuals at the moment.

If you would like a drop-off point in your community you could suggest it to your favourite op shop or other aligned business and they can host a collection bin with us.

Because recycling textiles costs money, and someone has to pay for it.

Your kerbside recycling isn't free either - it's paid for through your rates. Textiles are the one waste stream with no public funding behind it, so instead of the cost being spread across everybody's rates bill, it sits with the people using the service.

Textiles are also more work than other recyclables. Every item has to be checked and sorted, and buttons, zips and trims removed by hand before the fabric can go anywhere. It all has to stay dry, too, which is why textiles can't go in a kerbside bin.

However, the biggest reason is that the products of textile recycling need a steady market at a decent price before more recycling can be done. There's no shortage of textiles to recycle. The shortage is in the uptake of uses for the products of recycling. More imagination at this end is needed - can you put yours to the task and tell us about it?

Not yet - we're a registered company operating not-for-profit, transitioning to a charitable trust as soon as we can. Our purpose is social and environmental, and everything we earn goes back into the work.