Planet Aid at Home
By making it more convenient for consumers to drop off their unwanted clothing, Planet Aid helps increase textile reuse and recycling rates thereby reducing environmental impacts associated with the manufacture and disposal of textile products. In 2017 Planet Aid collected and recycled nearly 90 million pounds of clothes and shoes in the United States.
Here are a few other highlights from our work in 2017.
Planet Aid Installs Large Solar Array
Planet Aid unveiled a 70,000 square foot rooftop solar power–generating installation at the Milford, Massachusetts facility in September of 2017. The array is one of the largest roof-mounted solar arrays in the state, and the solar panels will generate nearly 700,000 kW per year. This renewable source will save approximately 28,000 barrels of oil from being burned, and help to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by 12,000 metric tons, which is equivalent to saving over 1.3 million gallons of gasoline or planting more than 11,000 acres of new forest. The array will also contribute to Massachusetts' goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to 15% of 1990 levels by 2020. Read more
Planet Aid Goes Across the Bay
Each November thousands of runners cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis, Maryland as part of the Across the Bay 10k. And each November, Planet Aid is there to pick up any dropped clothing along the route. Many runners remove and drop layers as they go along the course to stay cool. Instead of letting the clothing end up in a landfill, Planet Aid volunteers are there to collect any articles shed during the race.
This is one of many community events that Planet Aid is a part of each year. We also sponsor clothing and shoe drives in all states served by Planet Aid to encourage textile recycling. Learn more
Planet Aid Partners with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
About three years ago, Planet Aid first partnered with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and the Go Home to Stay Home program, and hit a milestone in April of 2017 when the State gave approval to add a community service component to the partnership.
The program helps provide shoes, clothing, food vouchers, furniture vouchers, and more to inmates being released; and thanks to the new approval, now inmates are able to repaint and relabel weathered collection bins during their sentence to earn community service hours and reduce their fines. Read more
Planet Aid Provides Coats in Rochester to Hurricane Victims
In November of 2017, Planet Aid teamed up with Rochester, New York's Ibero-American Action League to provide more than 1,000 coats to those in need. The area had recently received an influx of Puerto Rican refugees, who fled their island after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Prior to Maria, Rochester already had one of the largest Puerto Rican communities in the continental United States.
Planet Aid has an operations center in Rochester, and has been long been serving the greater Rochester and Syracuse communities. Read more
Planet Aid Thrift Center Celebrates Second Anniversary
In October of 2017, the Planet Aid Thrift Center celebrated its second anniversary. Customers were asked to share what they love about the store:
“I’m here at least once a week, looking for new clothes—brand names and great prices.”
“You find something all the time, you don’t have to spend a lot of money, and it’s for a good cause.”
“The cleanliness is amazing!”
“It’s large and the people are very generous.”
“You can really make out pretty good with a 20-dollar bill!”
