A Winnipeg thrift store is doing its part in keeping Manitoba sustainable by "treating things with dignity."

Manager Robin Searle is proud of her team of volunteers practicing sustainability in the store. Teams have found ways to reuse and fix items donated in an effort to keep items out of the landfill. Searle has found that these practices have been working well at her location thanks to the help of her large team of volunteers.

Sustainability

Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop is reusing everything they can, including paper. They find that most of the products they make sell out very quickly. Volunteers even have a way of resuing T-shirts. Staff members will use a process to pull the fabric, creating T-shirt yarn.

This location also has people making reusable produce bags. Using lace curtains and strings from hoodies, crafters will make produce bags out of the materials. Everything, including the tag, is from reused materials. 

"We can not keep those product bags on the shelf," Searle says.

lace bags

The Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop works to fix or retore all of their donations inhouse. 

The center receives large amounts of clothing, allowing its teams to restock products every six weeks. Close to 300 lbs of clothing are pulled off of the racks each week and taken to the clearance location to sell at a further-reduced price. The store hopes that by doing this it will reduce the amount of clothing going into the landfills. 

"People are really respectful of the clothing they have donated to us," Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop's manager Robin Searle, says about the condition of donations. 

Giving Back

She adds that even though they run through donations, they also give back to other Manitoban organizations such as Siloam Mission and Union Gospel Mission.

"We work with so many other nonprofits," Searle says. "We work with all kinds of other organizations."

store

They also work with the Government of Manitoba to help people in need. Searle adds that "it is also about giving back to the community."

Volunteer

Searle has a team of approximately 300 volunteers and will often stop to check-in with them as she walks around the store.

volunteer
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There is a long list of tasks performed by volunteers, including puzzle making, donation organization, cleaning shoes, and appliance repair.

The thrift shops often receive donations in great condition, but also have volunteers willing to sew buttons back on or replace a zipper.

"The clothing that we are putting on the floor is treated with dignity."

Searle says Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop is always looking for volunteers and donations.