Renewal Workshop: Rescues Clothing Bound for Landfill
One man’s garbage is another’s treasure. Just take from The Renewal Workshop, a new circular business concept that transforms damaged garments and excess inventory destined for landfills into sellable—and sometimes one-of-a-kind—garments.
Founded by Nicole Basset and Jeff Denby, The Renewal Workshop partners with apparel brands like Prana, Ibex and Mountain Khakis to refurbish or upcycle damaged or returned garments at their Cascade Locks, Oregan based factory. The company repairs inventory with broken zippers, buttons and tears. Garments are also cleaned with Tersus Solutions, a waterless cleaning technology for “good as new clean.” Items that are too damaged to be used again are aggregated for recycling.
“We are a new kind of apparel company that takes discarded clothing and makes it into something new,” said co-founder Nicole Basset. “We are closing the loop for a circular economy in the apparel industry.”
The new and improved garments are then cycled back into the brand’s existing sales channels, or is sold directly to consumers through The Renewal Workshop’s website. Each renewed item sold on the website is given an environmental impact score that represents the positive effect of buying renewed instead of new.
“A circular economy for the apparel industry has been an idea for a long time. The Renewal Workshop came together because we saw a huge gap for apparel brands to manage the end of life of their products. There was a need for both circular economy expertise and operations to make it happen,” Nicole explained.
Here, Nicole shares with Carved in Blue her company’s vision for a sustainable apparel industry and how denim can play a part.
Carved in Blue: How did you get started in apparel industry and what is your interest in sustainability?
Nicole: My first job in sustainability in the apparel industry was at Patagonia in 2005. I started working on social responsibility in the supply chain and quickly noticed how intertwined issues like human rights and environmental responsibility were.
Carved in Blue: How did you come up with the name Renewal Workshop?
Nicole: Coming up with a name in 2017 isn’t easy. We thought of a lot of names and settled on The Renewal Workshop because we wanted to communicate a level of craftsmanship and quality with the product we were creating. And renewal is an inspiring word, to bring new life into materials, and that is just what we are doing be it renewing apparel or aligning with recyclers to create new raw materials.
Carved in Blue: What vision do you have for The Renewal Workshop?
Nicole: To enable a circular economy for the apparel industry. We envision a world where resources are wisely used and clothing is continuously remade.
Carved in Blue: What has been the customer response?
Nicole: Incredible. We have had a lot of excitement from customers about what we are doing and the way we are bringing clothing that would have been discarded into a new life.
Carved in Blue: What impact do you think The Renewable Workshop can have on denim industry?
Nicole: The denim industry is a perfect fit for renewed apparel. There is a strong desire to get access to denim that is vintage. Jeans that have been worn and weathered naturally, getting access to those clothes via renewed is an incredible opportunity.
Carved in Blue: What is your favorite pair of jeans?
Nicole: I have a pair of organic cotton jeans from Nudie. I wanted organic cotton jeans, but years ago it was hard to find any. So I love the ones I found.
Carved in Blue: Which item of denim have you had the longest?
Nicole: I actually have a denim jean jacket from high school that I’ve kept and wear.
Carved in Blue: Denim is acclaimed for its heritage yet innovation among denim manufacturers can rival that of activewear manufacturers. Why the paradox?
Nicole: Denim is such a statement material. There are few products that can live in so many cultures and styles and classes of clothing while holding a strong branding. What I love is how timeless denim is and while innovations allow it to evolve there is a desire for the original and the past. I love its complexity.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Nicole: Innovation in denim is best seen as a global story and Carved in Blue brings those stories together, not only from style, but from manufacturing and innovation. I love that there is a resource in one place for so many ideas.