California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery

staff in the Suay sew shop making new clothing and doing garment repair.

Thanks to $1,315,378 from the Recycled Fiber, Plastic and Glass Grant Program, Suay is expanding their operations diverting textiles from landfills. Suay is a closed-loop recycling operation in Los Angeles that collects used garments and cleans, repairs, and re-sews these textiles remaking them into new products. The finished products are repaired clothing and remade products, such as pillows and dog beds that use stuffing from shredded garments that could not be repaired.

With this grant, Suay is expanding collection of used garments from Los Angeles County residents, building a sorting and cleaning facility, and increasing their sewing, remaking and repair capacity. By collecting used clothing, Suay is diverting textiles from landfills and producing more sustainable products which can be used instead of purchasing products made with virgin raw materials. Suay is also providing education and outreach to priority population communities with a mobile program. Garment repair staff will be traveling throughout the region repairing garments for communities, offering free garments through their textile donation program, and teaching community members how to do their own clothing repairs. Suay is inviting participants to events through weekly e-newsletters, targeted ads via social media channels, and engagement with local businesses. In addition, this grant is supporting new jobs as Suay is hiring new part- and full-time staff for this project.

To date, Suay has diverted more than 382 tons of textiles from landfills, and their positive environmental impact continues to grow year-by-year. The expansion activities funding by this grant are expected to divert 1,500 tons of textiles from landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3,750 MTCO2e.