WILLIAMSBURG — Thread Local Charities collects clothing, saving it from the landfill and putting it in the hands of people who need it.
The registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization was started in 2022 by former school teacher Tiffany Beardsley as an off-shoot of her business, Thread Local 360. The organization became active in 2023 with a mission to reduce how many clothes end up in the trash.
She notes that she has always been an advocate for the environment and participated in activities such as beach clean-ups, passing that philosophy on to her children.
“When I was researching clothing donations, clothing recycling, textile recycling — things like that, In other nonprofits I found out that most nonprofits also throw away 85% of the clothes that get donated to them,” said Beardsley. “That really bothered me, so I decided well, I’m going to start this nonprofit and we’re going to make sure that none of our clothes end up in the trash.”
Since then, Beardsley has been making partnerships with other local nonprofits in Williamsburg and picking up their unusable clothes. Any clothing donated directly to Thread Local Charities is sorted based on its clothing nonprofit partner needs.
An example Beardsley cited was House of Mercy, which usually is only looking for newborn to 2-t clothing. Thread Local Charities puts aside that donated clothing for House of Mercy. Another example is FISH, which gets the organization’s 3-t to adolescent clothing.
“We were going to help people with free clothes if there was a need that they had, we partnered with United Way where anyone who applies for assistance through Thread Local Charities can get up to $1,000 worth of free clothing if they go through United Way and fill out their application and United Way feels like they would be a good fit,” Beardsley explained.
“So it started out with that, providing clothes to people who couldn’t afford it, and then it’s also taken on the next step of supplying nonprofits with clothes they need so they can focus on their mission and at the same time picking up all of their clothes and recycling it for them,” Beardsley continued.
According to Thread Local Charities, the organization has recycled approximately 877 bags of Williamsburg local nonprofit unusable clothes into WJCC Schools PTA drop boxes since last spring, which has helped divert over 3.54 tons (7,080 pounds) of clothes away from landfills/incinerators, conserved over 11.5 million gallons of fresh water, and over 35,000 pounds of Carbon.
“I’m still making an impact. Instead of on individual lives, where I can see and feel it and own it, it’s more removed but I still feel like I’m fulfilling whatever my purpose is here in life,” Beardsley said.
The next step Thread Local Charities wants to take is opening an official storefront and it is currently in lease negotiations. It is also looking at organizing a 5k for sometime in September.
To learn more about Thread Local Charities, how to get involved, or how to donate, visit the official website.
