Turning old textiles into new opportunities
Bags of rags are now available in all Good Sammy stores, including:
- Towel rags – perfect for mopping up spills or oil
- T-shirt rags – ideal for general cleaning
- Sheet rags – great for polishing
These rags are all machine washable and ready to use. Each one helps create employment for people with disability, while keeping low-grade textiles in circulation, extending their life and reducing what goes to landfill.
Giving textiles a second life
The rags are produced through our Unwearable Textile Recovery Project, a project supported by the Government of Western Australia and Waste Authority, which turns unwearable donations into reusable materials. Thanks to WasteSorted Infrastructure Grant funding, we’ve installed new ragging equipment, a metal detector, and a baler at our Canning Vale warehouse.
The grant also funded commercial washers and dryers, which have already helped us recover and reuse more than 30 tonnes of textiles by cleaning donations that arrived wet or dirty during winter.
A cleaner future
Our new industrial-grade laundry machines are part of a bigger effort to build a circular economy in Western Australia. Each washer can handle up to 30 kilograms per load — that’s around 400 kilograms a day — allowing us to wash, dry, and sort donations that would otherwise go to landfill.
Through this project, we aim to recover nearly 2 million kilograms of textiles each year, creating sustainable jobs for people with disability and protecting the planet at the same time.
Combining purpose and sustainability
This project brings together the two things Good Sammy does best: creating jobs for people with disability and protecting our environment. Around half of our workforce identifies as having disability, and every initiative we deliver is designed to provide training and employment that build confidence and skills.
At the same time, we’re using our role as a social enterprise to lead the way in environmental sustainability; reducing what goes to landfill, extending the life of textiles, and building a more circular economy in WA.
It’s another step towards achieving our ESG goals, reinforcing Good Sammy’s role as a partner of choice for organisations that value inclusion and sustainability.
It’s a win for the environment, a win for our community, and a step toward a more circular WA.
