LENOX, Mass. – In response to Massachusetts law banning the disposal of textiles, Shakespeare & Company has launched a new program designed to help both the company and the community at large more easily recycle clothing, footwear, bedding, curtains, and other fabrics.
The initiative was spearheaded by Costume Shop Manager Michelle Hathaway and builds on Shakespeare & Company’s existing policy to accept clothing donations year-round.
“We receive generous donations all year long, and we make use of many of these items in our costumes,” said Hathaway. “However, we can’t use everything.”
In the past, pieces unusable by the Costume Shop were sent to a spot on campus where anyone could take items at no cost. The next stop, however, was the landfill. A new relationship with New Hampshire-based company Apparel Impact has changed that; focused on the recovery of textiles, Apparel Impact provides bins at no cost to companies, government agencies, colleges, schools, and other entities across the Northeast.
“The Apparel Impact bin allows us to reallocate these resources to communities in need across the U.S.,” added Hathaway, noting that Apparel Impact empties and services the bins regularly, and collected textiles are recycled in one of four ways:
- Community outreach, wherein clothing, blankets, and other resources are provided to underserved areas across New England;
- Reuse, achieved through collaboration with clothing graders, non-profit thrift stores, consignment shops, and vintage clothing stores to ensure that items in good condition can be worn again;
- Upcycling through relationships with clothing recyclers in the U.S. who are experts at creating new items from too-worn or damaged textiles, and
- Downcycling, reserved for those items too damaged to be used for any other purpose. These textiles become industrial wiping rags, insulation, carpet, pet bed stuffing, and more.
The Apparel Impact bin is located outdoors at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, on the Shakespeare & Company campus. For more information on the bin or making donations to the Costume Shop, contact Michelle Hathaway at (413) 637-1199 ext. 376, or email costumes@shakespeare.org.
Photo caption: Costume Shop Manager Michelle Hathaway with the Apparel Impact bin at Shakespeare & Company. Photo by Eran Zelixon.
About Shakespeare & Company
Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training opportunities year-round, and attracts more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists.
About Apparel Impact
Apparel Impact started in 2014 as a New England textile recycler and community support company. Within five years, Apparel Impact became the fastest-growing textile recycler in the northeastern U.S, growing from a small regional provider to a multi-state business with over 1,350 partners and customers ranging from small businesses, non-profit organizations, and government partners to Fortune 500 companies.
Apparel Impact is a Family and Veteran Owned operated business that focuses on the recovery of textiles and the support of communities throughout the country and is a highly regarded, family-owned, veteran-owned recycling company that truly understands the value of giving back and supporting its communities while having a primary mission to reduce waste and improve the environment.