Eve Rowsell and Rachel Aalders traveled to Bridgetown on Aug. 15 to meet MLA Keith Irving, business minister Mark Furey, MP Scott Brison and Premier Stephen McNeil.
Ideally, Rowsell says, they would have liked to chat about recycling with Justin Trudeau, but “the Prime Minister was obviously rushed. We were really glad the other politicians actually had time to talk to us and could be engaged.”
She added that after “finding that we had been formally recognized by Keith Irving at the House of Assembly in May, we realized RE really has a presence that's important to the community, and the environment, and we should reach out more to politicians.”
It's easy to get bogged down by the workload at RE, she says, "and lose sight of the big picture, when the to-do list just keeps getting longer.”
With competition open from an international chain store, she said they wanted to “highlight that we're a community-minded second-hand shop with a social enterprise co-op model operated by local women.”
RE's model encompasses a lot, says Rowsell. The newly expanded store offers the opportunity for people to offload quality used items. It was born out of a collective desire to keep useful items out of landfills.
The Commercial Street store opened in 2014, and RE won a Mobius Award for Environmental Excellence as Small Business of the Year in 2015. They accept donations during all open hours - Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Used clothing markets around Kings County
RE isn't the only organization in the area that repurposes items. The Flowercart in New Minas collects and processes used clothing for wholesale to overseas exporters and others. Clients process approximately 40,000 pounds of donated clothing each month.
Executive director Jeff Kelly says the level of donated clothing has dropped in the past five or six months. He attributes the drop to an increase in donation boxes.
“There are more of them and they may be closer to home for some people,” Kelly said. With Value Village in operation, he said, the level “may drop further. It’s early days.”
The Oats Thrift Store, operated by Open Arms in Kentville, sells used clothing and supports people with lower incomes seeking to gain experience and job training.
The store takes in-season clothing donations for men, women, children and babies. Proceeds support the Inn from the Cold program.
Open hours are: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Thursday 5 – 8 p.m.
There are other local charities in the Valley that also collect used clothing.
Did you know?
The Value Village chain is owned by Savers Inc. Based in Washington State, it is a privately owned, for-profit thrift store chain with over 300 outlets in three countries. It receives merchandise by paying money to non-profit groups for donated clothing and household items, and by direct donation.
Eve Rowsell and Rachel Aalders traveled to Bridgetown on Aug. 15 to meet MLA Keith Irving, business minister Mark Furey, MP Scott Brison and Premier Stephen McNeil.
Ideally, Rowsell says, they would have liked to chat about recycling with Justin Trudeau, but “the Prime Minister was obviously rushed. We were really glad the other politicians actually had time to talk to us and could be engaged.”
She added that after “finding that we had been formally recognized by Keith Irving at the House of Assembly in May, we realized RE really has a presence that's important to the community, and the environment, and we should reach out more to politicians.”
It's easy to get bogged down by the workload at RE, she says, "and lose sight of the big picture, when the to-do list just keeps getting longer.”
With competition open from an international chain store, she said they wanted to “highlight that we're a community-minded second-hand shop with a social enterprise co-op model operated by local women.”
RE's model encompasses a lot, says Rowsell. The newly expanded store offers the opportunity for people to offload quality used items. It was born out of a collective desire to keep useful items out of landfills.
The Commercial Street store opened in 2014, and RE won a Mobius Award for Environmental Excellence as Small Business of the Year in 2015. They accept donations during all open hours - Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Used clothing markets around Kings County
RE isn't the only organization in the area that repurposes items. The Flowercart in New Minas collects and processes used clothing for wholesale to overseas exporters and others. Clients process approximately 40,000 pounds of donated clothing each month.
Executive director Jeff Kelly says the level of donated clothing has dropped in the past five or six months. He attributes the drop to an increase in donation boxes.
“There are more of them and they may be closer to home for some people,” Kelly said. With Value Village in operation, he said, the level “may drop further. It’s early days.”
The Oats Thrift Store, operated by Open Arms in Kentville, sells used clothing and supports people with lower incomes seeking to gain experience and job training.
The store takes in-season clothing donations for men, women, children and babies. Proceeds support the Inn from the Cold program.
Open hours are: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Thursday 5 – 8 p.m.
There are other local charities in the Valley that also collect used clothing.
Did you know?
The Value Village chain is owned by Savers Inc. Based in Washington State, it is a privately owned, for-profit thrift store chain with over 300 outlets in three countries. It receives merchandise by paying money to non-profit groups for donated clothing and household items, and by direct donation.
