Goodwill Reducing Waste, Offering New Career Opportunities

By: Jordan Fremstad

One Oklahoma City organization tries to do something good with the things we no longer need. When people throw things away, they don’t disappear, they end up in landfills and a lot of that waste is clothing.

“Goodwill’s more than a store,” said Jim Priest, the CEO at Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma

The Goodwill Outlet Store is one location where Goodwill sells a large amount of donated clothes.

“Where it’s sold by the pound,” Priest said.

Goodwill leaders recommend people go through their closets and pick out anything they don’t wear, even damaged clothes, because those clothes can go to a better use at Goodwill.

“Textiles are baled into thousand-pound bales,” Priest said.

They’re recycled so they don’t end up in landfills. According to Earth.org and the Environmental Protection Agency, every year, each of us throws away more than 80 pounds of clothes. Countrywide, Americans toss 2,150 pieces per second in the trash.

“In the last year we were able to divert about 25 million pounds of landfill waste,” said Sophie Schwechheimer, the Director of Marketing at Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma.

The Goodwill Employment Services Center offers people job experience.

“It’s a real good environment,” said Chris Mccarther, who works for Goodwill. “I always wanted to be a part of something big.”

This job training offers people a way to reinvent their lives in the job market.

“It’s challenging in a good way,” Priest said.

Priest understands the challenges many people face trying to maintain career experience. He practiced law for 35 years.

“I’ve seen a lot of the tragedies that beset all of us,” Priest said.

Now Priest’s discipline spreads second chances to clothing and people.

“That’s very rewarding to me,” Priest said.