ricRACK, a New Orleans based 501c3, is a creative reuse shop for the community. A place to learn how to sew, create, grow, imagine, re-use, sustain, and succeed. |
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Hello friends! **We fixed the links to donate! Thanks for loving us even with a little mistake here and there! 😂** We are joining the chorus of very worthy nonprofits asking for your support as you think about making financial contributions this Giving Tuesday. Since ricRACK's start in 2012, we have: diverted over 7.5 tons of clothing and textiles from landfills by reusing, repurposing, and recycling saved the planet 112 tons of greenhouse gasses educated and inspired hundreds of young people across New Orleans with our sustainably focused classes, workshops, and partnerships
Please support ricRACK's mission by making a tax deductible donation |
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NEW FOR GIVING TUESDAY THIS YEAR: ONE-OF-A-KIND HANDMADE TOTES |
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Our Executive Director, Lizz Freeman, has been hard at work creating tote bags made entirely from fabric scraps for ricRACK’s Giving Tuesday(She was very excited to have a reason to sew so much)! They're made with 1930s feedsack and other variety of quilts and quilt tops, vintage kids tees, sequin scraps, upholstery samples, lino cut prints, and lots of other thoughtfully selected textiles from the archive. |   | |
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You can find the totes here at 9am CST on Tuesday the 29th. They’ll each have their own listing in our online shop with the donation amount you need to make toward our wonderful programming to get the bag. They make a great gift for the holidays! We can send the bag anyone you'd like with a handwritten card telling them that a donation has been made in their honor. Please feel free to reply to this email if you have any questions about our exciting new way to entice you to donate this year. Head to our instagram today to hear the Skinny Billionairess talk about the totes. |
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Your donation helps keep our unique mission going strong!
From staffing our local resale shop, to paying teachers to show both kids and adults how to sew, to supporting our textile recycling initiative.
Your contribution helps the New Orleans creative and cultural community.
Your financial contributions help us grow, and establish more ways to reuse, repurpose, and recycle textiles. We spend our funding: ​ Teaching adults and children in our community to sew Paying our instructors a fair wage Purchasing supplies like sewing machines, scissors, or chairs for our sewing studio We teach folks to sew even if they can't afford to pay for classes! Your funding helps make that possible Staffing our resale shop, which serves as a community hub for creative makers in New Orleans to find accessible and affordable supplies Working on the end use of non salvageable textiles. We always reuse or repurpose before recycling! And we have a 2023 commitment to creatively repurpose ALL of our sewing studio scraps without having to recycle. Funding helps us come up with the creative ways and partnerships to do this at no cost to participants when possible. We're developing a local recycling option for the community and funding helps us pay for shipping of unusable scraps to a U.S. based textile recycling partner
Your money goes directly to funding our many programs here at ricRACK. Every dollar helps! |
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We are changing the way people think about fabric. Thank you for investing in a more sustainable future! |
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Why is textile waste so dangerous? |
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Textiles are used everywhere. They are used to make clothing, linens, bedding, carpets, and other necessary items we use every day. What about when we're done with them?
17 million tons of textiles are thrown away each year. That's 82 pounds annually from the average American. 95% of textiles could be recycled, but only about 15% actually are.
In total, textiles make up 6.3% of all waste in landfills. Decomposing them in landfills harms the environment in 2 important ways. The process releases methane, contributing to global warming. Also, dyes and chemicals from the fabrics seep into the groundwater. Ultimately, they can take up to 200+ years to fully decompose. Shoes take up to 1000 years!
This news sounds grim, but there's lots we can do to help. Reuse, repurpose, upcycle, swap, trade, think creatively, and then think about donating or recycling. Think before you buy about the longterm life of whatever it is you're thinking of buying. Stop supporting companies who practice fast fashion, and instead shop secondhand and with brands who are committed to sustainability!
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We're having a big warehouse volunteer day December 11th from 9-12 Sign up below or email our volunteer coordinator, Blythe at blythecraft@gmail.com |   | |
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Thank you for supporting us in all of the ways! Shopping, donating, taking classes, and spreading the word about us. We are here for you and we are so grateful you're here for us too. |
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