'It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun': Local upcyclers find treasure in trashed clothing

Local businesses are using their sewing skills to give old clothes new lives.

Blenderz Garment Recyclers in Edmonton is taking a different approach to recycling textiles and each week the company turns thousands of pounds of unwanted clothing into ingredients for something new.

"We're the only one that does what we do, like how we do in Canada and as far as I know, North America," said owner Sarah Janzen.

At Blenderz, donated clothing that can be worn is thrifted and sold by the pound rather than the piece. And, unlike other thrift stores, unwearable items are broken down by hand to be reused by designers, upcyclers and other companies in the local economy.

Janzen said she started the company in 2020 after learning how unwanted items from second-hand stores are exported overseas, where only a small portion is actually used.

"There's just an excessive amount of it so a lot of it ends up in the garbage there and it's still good," she added. "It may be reworn but it's not actually being recycled."

Circular Economy Month reports more than 10 million tonnes of clothing goes to landfills in North America per year, with 95 per cent of that able to be reused or recycled. Globally, the textiles industry accounts for around 10 per cent of carbon emissions and up to 20 per cent of industrial water pollution.

Not wanting to waste good materials, Janzen said she started making calls to other people interested in upcycling, which is the process of turning discarded items into new, improved items.

"I started phoning all the makers and seeing if we could come up with some solutions, and we came up with Blenderz," she added. "There are just so many things that you can make out of unusable textiles.

"It's very exciting and I'm so excited to be able to offer this material back in to the community so we can come up with a solution for it."

Blenderz recycles around 2,000 pounds each week and offers workshops to help people use those materials, including a sewing class and workshops on visible mending, rug and pillow making.

 

 

 

 

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"There is so much second-hand stuff and the creativity that's available to remake something, I just want as many people to experience that joy as much as possible," Janzen said.

While her business relies on people tossing out their textiles, Janzen said donating clothing should be a last resort.

Clothing swaps, re-selling or giving old clothes to family or friends are all good ways to keep items out of the garbage, she added.

"Trying to do as much as we can with them before we donate them is so important, because we can't control what the company is going to do with them after we've donated them," Janzen said. "Even using them as rags is probably better than having them exported."

'ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE'

Emily Whistance-Smith uses thrifted and recycled textiles for her fashion brand De Kill Designs. She said upcycled garments are a great way to spice up a wardrobe or be more environmentally friendly.

"It's a really positive way to keep things from landfills, reduce our amount of waste and it creates very unique pieces," she said. "Seeing the phenomenal things that are ending up as trash is just so heartbreaking.

"It truly is like one man's trash is another man's treasure."

It's normal for people to want to change their look and new clothes make people feel good, Whistance-Smith said, but new doesn't have to mean brand new.

"There's [something] to be said for the fast-fashion industry, like that quick hit of dopamine that we all really like," she added. "I think that we forget that just giving something a little bit of a new twist or having something fit a little bit better, you will get that exact same feeling again."

There are added ethical benefits to buying used or renewed clothing, said designer Rhandi Sandford, owner of Colour Me Weird.

"People should be very conscious of where they're buying their clothes from. Mass production can sometimes be exploiting other people in other countries or even in our country," Sandford said. "Landfills are full of T-shirts that you buy off Shein and then throw away two days later.

"So this kind of gets all the fabrics out of the landfills and you get a nice cute thing to wear."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb