A few of my favorite links for salvage stores and recyclers, many with a gardening or textile component. Please email me if you would like to suggest a link!

Recycled Wearables

Alchemy Goods
A Seattle based company that turns old bike innertubes and grocery store banners into handmade, one of a kind totes and bags. The tote I bought was made from a grocery store banner, has padded handles, holds a full paper-bag ful of groceries, and is the most durable bag I have every owned. Check out the Alchemy Goods logo. There’s a numeral in the upper right hand corner. It’s a tiny number with big significance, since it represents the percent of recycled materials, by weight, of your bag. The number varies by product, depending on the make-up. Check their website for details about their recycling programs.

Revival Ink
I've been impressed with Tara Smith's products since being introduced to them at a local business fair a few years ago. These garments are hand printed in Seattle using eco-friendly methods and water-based inks, printed on organic fair traid fabrics. Tara also designs the silkscreens and does the imprinting. Unique, eco-friendly, earth responsible designs.

thredUP
An online children's clothing and toy exchange. Membership allows you to buy boxes of gently used items for $5 +shipping. Post your own items, and when another member chooses your 'box', you ship it to them at no cost to you.

Wholly Rags
Wholly Rags mission is "to piece together and rethread the fabric of our community, gathering the cloth of the past to conserve the culture of the future." They maintain the Taos New Mexico Community Free Box, where textiles are gathered for reuse in the form of donations to needy people and disaster victims in need of clothing. They also research new products from textile waste, including paper, insulation and construction materials.

Recycled Glass

Aurora Glass
There was a small mountain of glass growing off I-5 near Portland, Oregon and it needed to go somewhere... St. Vincent de Paul took note, and from that the Aurora Glass Foundry was born. Aurora Glass has become an innovative resource for the community, recycling old windows and other waste glass. All profits aid the homeless and low-income through emergency services, housing, and job training.

Bedrock Industries
Another 100% recycled and handmade art glass company, this one in Seattle, Washington. They have a wonderful tradition of making heart shaped glass stones for lover's to skip across the waters of Puget Sound, every Valentine's Day at Godlen Gardens Park. They also use 100% recyclable materials for product packaging and shipping. Bedrock Industries is a for-profit company and operates several community-based programs including a bottle drive for the parents and students of a local elementary school. Earnings from the school drive have helped to pay for student field trips and other educational activities.

Building Supply and Resources

The ReStore
Their non-profit stores in Bellingham and Ballard Washington are dedicated to preventing useable building materials from going to waste. Their licensed and bonded deconstruction crews can salvage up to 80% of building materials for re-use and re-cycle. Other services include salvage and materials removal and garden salvage. The ReStore is one of my favorite places to go for found objects for my Steampunk hats.

Second Use
Second Use strives to divert reusable building materials from the landfill, thereby preserving resources and providing cost-effective supplies for Northwest homeowners, contractors and artists. Their location in the South Seattle takes advantage of their proximity to local landfill by raising awareness on waste and reuse. They also have a boutique area that includes many older lights, bath fixtures, hardware, and stained glass, which reflect the architectural history of Seattle and the region.

Valley Metal Recycling
A full service recycling center in Logan, Utah, serving Northern Utah and Southern Idaho for over 75 years. They specialize in recycling metal and paper for household, commercial and industrial customers.

Total Reclaim Environmental Services
Responsible recycling solutions in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, offering a wide variety of innovative services for management of electronics and other hard-to-handle materials, including fluorescent lamps, refrigerant gases and appliances.

EcoLights
Fluorescent lamp recycling, UV lamps, ballasta and mercury based batteries, offering pick up for construction sites, as well as drop off points and a mail-in program.

Green Roofs
A green roof system is an extension of the existing roof which involves a high quality water proofing and root repellant system, a drainage system, filter cloth, a lightweight growing medium and plants. It has been used in Northern Europe for several years and is slowly starting to introduce itself to the US as an eco-friendly architectural element. Green roof technologies not only provide the owners of buildings with a proven return on investment, but also represent opportunities for significant social, economic and environmental benefits, particularly in cities.

By the Yard Inc.
This virtually indestructible lawn furniture is made from recycled milk jugs! Their product requires no painting, does not need to be stored in the winter, is UV stabilized, ideal for desert and coastal climates, and comes in six colors. Their decking has been in use commercially for nearly 30 years. The company is based out of Jordan Minnesota.

Other Services and Resources

Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts (MECCA)
This nonprofit organization in Eugene, Oregon, is dedicated to diverting scrap materials from the waste stream into more creative endeavors in the community. MECCA operates a recycled art supply store, community workshops and charter school classes.

African American Environmentalist Association (AAEA)
An interesting page suggested by Sharon Donato's class! Founded in 1985, the AAEA is a national not-for-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting the environment, enhancing human, animal and plant ecologies, promoting the efficient use of natural resources, and increasing African American participation in the environmental movement.

ecobly
ecobly (e'-ko-blee): making products locally, sustainably, responsibly. A directory of producers who use local, green materials. Shop this site to reduce your carbon footprint, find safe toys, green building products and personal items, and create demand for the most ecofriendly products. I'm proud to be listed in the Clothing section of this directory.

Eco Encore
Eco Encore raises funds for environmental organizations in the Pacific Northwest through the online resale of books, CDs, DVDs and software donated by individuals and academic institutions around the country, while increasing awareness of reuse as a vital practice for resource conservation and waste reduction.

Group Health Pharmacy Medication Disposal
Now you can dispose of your expired OTC and prescription medications in an environmentally friendly way through Group Health Cooperatives. This program is funded through government and private sources through the end of 2008. You may also call the Washington State Department of Ecology hotline (800-732-9253) for additional resources.

Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
The RBRC is sponsored by manufacturers of rechargeable batteries and the appliances that use them, including cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras, and remote control toys. RBRC recycles the following battery chemistries: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Small Sealed Lead* (Pb). RBRC is dedicated to keeping rechargeable batteries and cell phones out of our nation’s solid waste stream and preserving natural resources. "If it's rechargeable, it's recyclable..."

InterConnection
Creating opportunity through computer reuse by helping low-income and unemployed people gain access to technology via free training and refurbished computers. This company distributes refurbished computers and laptops to nonprofits as well as to support emergency relief services in Haiti, Pakistan and Chile. They even have a mail-in program if you would like to donate a laptop. Computer reuse is 20 times more efficient than computer recycling.