Project Repat

Lindsey Russo, from Bloomfield, NJ, shared her t-shirt blanket story with us! Lindsey’s t-shirt blanket represents memories from her time at UConn and studying abroad in Australia and New Zealand! Here is Lindsey’s story:

“With the help of your incredible team and 30 of my old t-shirts, we were able to create a gorgeous blanket that showcases the breathtaking countries I have had the privilege of visiting, numerous summer jobs/activities throughout high school and all 4 years of my college experience at the University of Connecticut. From various campus organizations to Senior Week and silly dorm room tees, my Project Repat blanket does an incredible job of capturing the experiences that have molded me into the person I am today.

I have two black squares adorned with Kings of Leon lyrics from their hit song “Someone Like You” in hot pink letters. This t-shirt was made during spring of 2009 while I was studying abroad in Australia and vacationing for spring break in New Zealand. A group of us had these shirts made during our stay and every time I wore/looked at the shirt it reminded me of the incredible relationships I built and continue to have from that phenomenal journey. 

I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to tangible memories and that is exactly what my t-shirts are for me. People asked why I didn’t donate the shirts or just throw them out but the thought of getting rid of my shirts was equivalent to throwing out countless laughs, tears, late nights, dance parties, the list goes on and on. Holding onto these shirts has kept my memories alive in both my heart and mind, hence why there was never any other option.

My blanket does a remarkable job of summarizing my adventures, achievements and all of the personalities I have met along the way! I think its important to note that your products do not represent an individual fearful of moving on or letting go; rather your products bring memories to life and remind us to embrace all that life has to offer. My blanket connects so strongly with all of my senses reminding me of every scent, sight, touch, noise and taste that I’ve encountered. T-shirts may fade over time however their stories can and should be passed on for generations to come.”

Denise Lane, from Indianapolis, IN, got t-shirt blankets made for her two daughters, to celebrate their adventures and school spirit. Denise sent in pictures of her daughters wearing their t-shirts that were eventually made in to their blankets. Here is Denise’s story!

“My daughters will have comfort of their childhood memories for the rest of their lives and I am so thankful Project Repat was available to do them and we helped them out at the same time!!!”

“Some people are collectors and for my girls, it just so happens to be t-shirts! It started with school spirit at a young age then through middle school with youth clubs and team sports with nicknames, and eventually high school with their class t-shirts. It gave them belonging while making a statement about who they are. They’re also proud of their souvenirs from many family vacations and countless concerts, but more importantly their recent mission trips to South Africa and Uganda to work with orphaned children with and from HIV aids.”  

“There are too many memories woven into the fibers of their t-shirts to let go of. We couldn’t think of a better way than to create a one-of-a-kind blanket for each of our girls that will be treasured and find comfort in always and also knowing they are made with such caring hands with beautiful craftsmanship.”

“Here are several shots of Hannah and Ashley wearing some of their shirts in various places, opening their blankets at Hannah’s graduation party this past weekend, and one of them snuggling with them in their beds! Thank you Project Repat!!”

Shellie Tidball, from Bowling Green, KY, shared with us her t-shirt blanket story! Shellie’s blanket represents memories from her husband’s live music venue, Tidball’s, and their love for football! Here is Shellie and her husband’s story:

“My husband and I created a blanket that tells a story of ‘us.’ Each of the t-shirts has a story. A majority of the t-shirts are related to Tidball’s, a live music venue in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This venue is very meaningful to both my husband and I. He opened the business with a few friends over 10 years ago. They’ve had some pretty big bands make their start there. It is also where we met almost six years ago, when I left my name and number on a beverage napkin! On our blanket there are Tidball’s t-shirts from their golf scramble, and some of the bands t-shirts.

We also have a lot of running shirts on the blanket. We run races together also. There is also a race I started for my former school called the Eagle Flight 5K.

And last of all, the football shirts. We LOVE football. He is a Tampa Bay Buc’s fan and I love the New England Patriots. The blanket includes both teams. We ‘fight’ over which team our 4-month-old son will cheer for!

Like most people we love a nice comfy shirt. We have so many our drawers won’t shut though! Because each shirt has a story to it there was no way we could get rid of them. And like your company, we like to recycle! Some shirts weren’t wearable anymore, but they look great on the blanket! We were so excited to get the blanket we used it the night we got it! My husband really loves it! We’ve already started our bag for our second one, along with some onesies for a blanket for our son!”

Amy Lutey, from Haleiwa, Hawaii, shared her unique t-shirt blanket story with us, from surfing contests to Space Camp! Here is Amy’s story:

“We had many t-shirts stored in our attic and this is a great way to use them and remember the happy memories that came with these shirts. The t-shirts we stored ranged from the kids’ water polo days, when they went to Space Camp, an old surf contest in the ‘80’s, and my late father in law’s shirt.”

All of the t-shirts have special memories for us. The green one to the right of our granddaughter, Maddy Malia, says “Deadwood Jack” and belonged to her great grandfather who grew up in Deadwood, South Dakota. Her great-great grandfather was the sheriff of Deadwood. 

We kept most of these shirts in the attic over the years because they had special memories for us — when our two boys went to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL, when they played water polo at Kahuku high school, my husband grew up surfing in Texas so a couple of the shirts are about surfing in Texas, he works for Matson shipping and each ship has a special t-shirt so there are a few of those, and we live on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii where there are surf contests every year so of course, contest t-shirts are part of the blanket. Some of the shirts are from travels such as when my older son went to Midway Atoll and when my younger son went bouldering near Bozeman, MT.  A couple of the shirts voice our strong belief to keep where we live from over-development, such as “Keep the Country Country.” 

“This photo, above, is of our granddaughter Madelynn Malia on the beach with our dog, Olive.  My husband had just come in from surfing and his surfboard is in the background.”

Haley Lancaster from, San Antonio, TX, shared the story of her t-shirt blanket which celebrates memories from many different events throughout her life! Here is Haley’s story:

 “We were having our first baby and needing to make room in our home. We had a really hard time parting with our favorite old t-shirts and memories so started doing research on t-shirt quilts. My husband and I both had our own blankets made. The shirts I chose were from childhood, high school, college, favorite concerts, summer camp, and a few pieces of my mom’s clothing… she has passed away. I couldn’t be happier with the blanket. Thank you all so very much! Now we will keep this in mind as our little baby girl grows up :)

The Blue Ritas t-shirt is from college when I lived with some of my very best girlfriends for years, this shirt represents margaritas and hanging out with my roomies! My blanket has lots of UTSA roadrunner patches. This is where my husband and I both went to college. We started dating in high school (all the green Cuero gobbler shirts). When we started school we didn’t have a football team and now we do. We love going to games together and are proud fans. Actually- a lot of our hometown friends are UTSA alumni and we all have season tickets and tailgate together. We have stayed great friends through high school, college, marriage, and now having babies! The San Antonio rodeo tee, we love good ol’ country music and cowboys and the San Antonio rodeo is a big deal in San Antonio and we enjoy going every year. In college, we would always go to Texas Country concerts at Floore’s Country Store. The Eli Young t-shirt was one of those concerts! My t-shirt blanket has many Camp Longhorn tees, which are my fondest memories from growing up. Going to camp longhorn is a family tradition. My mom and aunts went as kids, and I spent 2 weeks there for 16 summers in a row. I am still great friends with my fellow campers and counselors to this day and stay in touch with all the directors. 

The fishing shirt is from when my family spent time at the beach! My little brother actually did the art for this t-shirt, he won a contest, I am so proud of him and wanted to include it to represent him and Port Aransas, Texas. The Green Cuero t-shirts are from growing up together with my extremely close group of friends in Cuero. We started a group called the flophouse to raise money for different causes and find every reason we can to get together (I also see the los paves locos yellow t-shirt our cooking team… and flophouse, our official group name) My husband and I are also high school sweethearts so our hometown and high school mean a lot to us. 

My mom passed away very unexpectedly almost 3 years ago. We went to see the musical Chicago together, which was a great memory… so I included that, I also included the striped square of her favorite pajama pants. The number 5 soccer jersey is from when I was little when my mom always coached my teams. My dad and I went to a Tom Petty concert years ago, so I included the front and back of that tee. Two years ago he and I danced to “free falling” at my wedding. I am a photographer and have an amazing support group around the country. We try to get together when we can… it makes for great trips!! OPF stands for “our photo forum” and this specific tee was from our New Orleans get together. 

I kept all of these t-shirts over the years because they represent beautiful memories. Even though I grew out of most I could never part with them. Now I can enjoy them forever and pass them on to our little one someday.”

“It’s not four years, it’s forever.”

Frances Ramos, from Murrieta, CA, shared her t-shirt blanket story with us! Her blanket is made of t-shirts that represent her experiences in college, from being on Panhellenic council, being a Peer Health Educator for Alcohol and Other Drugs at SDSU, to being a “Pledge Mom,” and much more! Here is Frances’s story:

“My blanket is not only made up of shirts from my sorority, Kappa Delta at San Diego State University, but also of t-shirts from my time at SDSU. I had an amazing 4 years filled with so much fun and so many leadership opportunities. I love that I was able to represent all the organizations I was in on one blanket. I was an officer for Panhellenic, which is the governing body that runs all the sororities on campus and has their own Greek letters Chi Theta Beta. I also had an amazing opportunity to serve as a Peer Health Educator for Alcohol and Other Drugs at SDSU, which is a program that educates clubs, sports, freshman living in the dorms, and other organizations about the risks and responsibilities that need to be considered with alcohol and substance use. And lastly I was the Vice President Member Educator of my sorority also known as the “Pledge Mom.” All of my other shirts on the blanket are from my sorority and hold so many precious memories for me, such as Big and Lil revealings and celebrations, philanthropic charity work, sorority intramural sports tournaments, and all the bonding that happens during one of the most important times of the year, recruitment. I feel that this blanket is a full representation of my 4 years at SDSU and all that I have accomplished and I cannot wait to share it with my children one day.”

Story published in Huff Post June 3rd

Nathan Rothstein’s first venture into the T-shirt recycling business flopped.

The 29-year-old tried to take old shirts with college logos and repurpose them into tote bags and scarves. No one was buying it.

“We thought they looked cool, but what do we know,” Rothstein said. “I’m used to my mom picking out what clothes look good.”

Rothstein’s ambition wasn’t to market something cool. He was focused on reducing the number of old clothes that pile up in landfills and paying workers a fair wage.

“We were interested in this problem of textiles not getting recycled,” said Rothstein, who founded the newest version of Project Repat in February 2012. “We were thinking of how we could create a business model around this problem.”

But when he and his business partner Ross Lohr initially tried selling their totes and scarves at markets around Boston, they found that people weren’t crazy enough about the product to buy it, even though they supported the company’s mission. The products were part of a new iteration of the company, which originally involvedbuying up used American T-shirts that were shipped to Africa.

“The key for social enterprise is making sure the product is something that they really want, leading with the product, not with the story,” Rothstein said. “We thought that people would really resonate with stuff made in the USA that was up-cycled, but the green and fair wage jobs wasn’t as important as having a really great product.”

So the two started turning their T-shirts into blankets instead of totes, using the nostalgia that people feel for their old shirts as a way to market the product.

“What people kept saying was, ‘What can you do with my T-shirts?’” Rothstein said. “After we heard it enough times, we figured out an interesting way for people to send us their clothes and we turn them into something and send them back as an upcycled product.”

Customers simply pack up their shirts, put them in a pre-paid envelope provided by the company and ship them off to be remade into blankets. They range in size and price, but start at $75.

Unlike many of the textiles sold in the U.S., Project Repat’s custom blankets are made locally instead of overseas by companies like 99Degrees Custom. The company also supports fair wage jobs; Rothstein said the employees who make the blankets are earning between $13 and $17 an hour.

By August of 2012, Project Repat was being featured on Groupon Grassroots and received 2,000 custom blanket orders in a week.

“We were overwhelmed. I was sleeping in our office and three days later after we launched the Groupon, people rushed their T-shirts to us,” Rothstein said. “All of sudden, about 300 boxes showed up at our little office.”

Since then, Project Repat has worked with multiple flash sale sites. The company is contracting out its labor to three different local manufacturing partners, and it’s on track to bring $1 million in revenue this year.

“For us it makes sense to make it here,” Rothstein said. “People arent going to ship their prize memories to China.”

Only a few more days to get yours on kickstarter

Above is a picture of Lauren’s daughter and their t-shirt blanket!

1+1= 3

Lauren Kelley, from Alameda, CA, has a special t-shirt blanket story she shared with us. Lauren met her husband at the UC Berkeley Alumni Family camp where they both worked during their summers. Her t-shirt blanket is made up of all the t-shirts from their summers at camp. Here is Lauren’s story:

“Throughout our camping and staffing years my husband and I acquired many
t-shirts. We are past the point of wearing most of them, but we refused to get rid of them for sentimental reasons. Getting a t-shirt blanket made with our memories from our favorite place in the world was the perfect solution. Each t-shirt holds distinct stories and memories that we cherish. 

This blanket represents a 1 + 1 = 3 situation because the combination of so many wonderful memories into 1 item really is amazing. There are t-shirts in the blanket representing parties from the first summers my husband and I each worked at the camp, crews we worked on, and summers we camped together.

The Lair of the Golden Bear holds a special place in many people’s hearts. People who start camping there continue coming back every summer, year after year, re-connecting with their best friends who they only see for 7 days out of every 365. For my husband and I, The Lair (as it is fondly called) is an extra special place because it is where we met. My husband actually spent his summers as a child at The Lair, every 8th week of summer, and then he worked on staff during the summers in college. I was lucky enough to go to Cal and be told about the great summer job The Lair offered which resulted in my two summers on staff. During my first summer I met my husband when he came up to visit as his staffing days were behind him. We had a connection right away, but didn’t start dating for about 8 months. Fast forward a few years and we now have our own cabin to camp in every 8th week of summer. This year we get to bring our daughter to our favorite place in the world for the first time. We know she’ll instantly love The Lair and look forward to her favorite week every summer. Like every camper, our daughter will begin collecting t-shirts from her summers at The Lair. If she’s lucky enough to work at the camp during her college summers she’ll accumulate even more shirts. Like us, she won’t be able to throw any of the shirts away because they hold too many memories. They’ll have their own designated drawer in her dresser but after time she’ll stop wearing most of them. Eventually she’ll decide to do something to preserve the t-shirt memories and get her very own blanket made. She’ll be able to wrap herself in some of her strongest memories and when she closes her eyes she’ll see the bright blue mountain skies and smell the mountain pines.”

Published on the Groupon Grassroots blog

This is the final impact update in a three-part series featuring some of our favorite social venture partners. The series celebrates our reaffirmed commitment to businesses doing good with the launch of Groupon Grassroots for Social Ventures.

Around the time Project Repat ran its first Groupon Grassroots campaign back in the summer of 2012, Nathan Rothstein, the organization’s president, was spending nights in his Back Bay, Boston office. It didn’t take long to see that the campaign would be conducive to business but not to sleep. Almost immediately after the campaign’s launch, readers began to send in T-shirts by the boxful. The shipments piled up—300 in just three days—cramping the already modest space and causing a bit of sleepless consternation:

“I was afraid they were all going to topple down on me in the middle of the night!” Nathan says.

In anticipation of Project Repat’s most recent Grassroots campaign, Nathan and co-founder Ross Lohr ironed out the kinks in their operation. “We knew what it would take to scale-up,” he says, thanks to the wild success of the first run. And good thing, too: the January 2013 campaign sold 6,000 vouchers in the first two weeks, translating to $400,000 in sales, 40,000 T-shirts stitched into blankets (and thus kept out of landfills), and 1,000 hours of fair-wage work in the United States.

As for the recipients of the T-shirt blankets, one organization emerged, somewhat unexpectedly, from the thousands of customers—Gold Star Mothers, Inc. Having lost sons and daughters to American wars, this group of mothers was left unsure of what to do with the clothing their heroic progeny left behind. The articles, Nathan relays, are memories that the women “couldn’t throw out, but also couldn’t continue to just look at.” Project Repat’s blankets presented a perfect solution, and offered a measure of comfort during the coping process.

To learn more about Project Repat, visit its website. Follow Project Repat on Twitter @ProjectRepat orFacebook.

Published in Next American City Magazine by Bill Bradley

Planet Money’s Adam Davidson has a story in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine about what he calls the “t-shirt phase.” Basically: Most rich countries go through an economic growth period where an excess of poor farmers work for low wages in unsafe textile factories.

Britain, Davidson notes, went through its t-shirt phase in the late 18th century. America has gone through two — New England in the 19th century and the South in the 20th. The t-shirt phase is ruled by a “race to the bottom,” where factory owners strive for the lowest price, achieved by hiring workers on the cheap. If your price is literally pennies cheaper than the opposition, you’re primed to cash in with big mass-market companies watching their bottom line.

“Pennies at wholesale,” Davidson writes, “become dollars at retail.”

When the t-shirt phase nears its end, factories and economies must switch gears and join the race to the top, which means hiring skilled workers to make more premium products. Bangladesh, where an eight-story apparel factory collapsed in April, is at the apex of the race to the bottom.

Davidson wonders if perhaps Bangladesh could be the last country to weather the t-shirt phase. As the largest apparel exporter in the world, he argues, it should be in a position to have factories paying fair wages and providing safe work spaces.

Which is something Nathan Rothstein and Ross Lohr are trying to accomplish here in the U.S. Working with textile workers based in mills around the country, their company, Project Repatturns your favorite old t-shirts into a blanket. The idea is to reuse goods and keep skilled workers employed. They’re also taking advantage of e-commerce in a developed economy — not everyone can afford the luxury of repurposing a surplus of t-shirts for a blanket — and making a specialized product with raw materials (your old high school track t-shirts) that are both cheap and abundant.

Yet it’s worth noting that Project Repat couldn’t exist without third world factories in the first place. The majority of those shirts were likely made offshore.

Project Repat just launched a new partnership with 99 Degrees Custom Manufacturing, a female-led company in Lawrence, Mass., a city with a long tradition of manufacturing. Brenna Nan Schneider, 99 Degrees’ founder, grew up in a manufacturing family in Pennsylvania and is trying to initiate a new model for today’s age that can produce livable wages for skilled workers. Rothstein and Project Repat are guaranteeing 99 Degrees a certain number of blanket orders a month and hoping that a Kickstarter campaign gives the company some stability in the early stages.

I’m not sure if we should call this part of a new race-to-the-top movement — the U.S. reached the end of its t-shirt phase a long time ago — but Rothstein’s intentions are sound. American manufacturing is lacking. And by paying fair wages to workers with a valuable skill set, it’s hopefully showing more companies that American textile manufacturing can still be a viable business model.