Heather's Mission: Save Laredo's Textiles from the Landfill

I'm Heather, and I firmly believe that if I see a problem, I want to do my best to solve it. Laredo, TX has over 40 clothing warehouses, most of which are open to the public and have "pisos" or piles of still usable clothing and textiles that are up for grabs. After a particular time, whatever hasn't sold gets taken to the landfill. One warehouse, for example, takes two truckloads (each truckload is about seven tons) PER WEEK to the city landfill. It also isn't cheap to dump that much, either (it's an average of $200-400 per trip).

My mission is to divert all that "waste," sort it, and create a resale pay-by-pound shop (which will eventually create jobs). I also want to have a community flex space so that people can hold classes (sewing, crafting, etc), repair cafes, workshops, farmers markets, vendors markets, etc. I also want local makers to be able to set up a booth so that they can have an additional means of selling their products. I want to be there for my community. I have already formed my nonprofit, Laredo Thrift and Center for Creative Reuse. EIN number: 33-4414282

I am reaching out via this platform because I could use the help for startup costs and funding for a warehouse space.

Thank you for listening.