Textile Waste
Take a t-Tote, Take a Stand

Textile waste is one of the leading pollutants in the World and one of the more overlooked ones. We set out to tackle this issue in a way that was true to us, providing a solution for both textile and plastic waste.

We realized that in our culture where fast fashion is prominent, people throw out plenty of t-shirts because they might have a stain, they’ve shrunk or they’ve simply grown out of the graphics they display. We also noticed how schools handed out t-shirts for field trips or events that would only be worn once and businesses promoted themselves through gifting shirts people only took home because they were free. What to do with these tees that people would eventually throw out?

The t-Tote idea was born.

How do we do this?

By turning old tees with stains, holes, or out of fashion into bags that would replace plastic bags. Here’s how our t-Tote process goes…

  • We hold t-shirt drives in schools, buildings, businesses, community centers and farmers markets or get individual donations.
  • Kids that facilitate these drives get community service hours and learn about sustainability.
  • The collected t-shirts are washed.
  • The sleeves of the shirts are cut off and used to make cotton pads.
  • The bottom parts of the shirts are cut off and used to make hair bandanas or elastics. (These cotton pads and hair bandanas/elastics are gifted to people who bring refillable containers to the Key Biscayne Farmers Market)
  • Each shirt is screen-printed by our volunteers with the slogan and our logo.
  • The bottom of the shirts is then sewn by local sewers which are paid per shirt.
  • The now t-Totes are handed out to vendors and to clients not bringing reusable bags at the Key Biscayne Farmers market.

How can you help?

The next step in our efforts is to find local thrift stores looking to partner with us by donating the slightly broken, stained or outdated t-shirts they’re unable to sell. We’re also looking for businesses or individuals that would like to sponsor us by providing silkscreen ink and the funds to pay our sewers. Our goal is to grow this project further. We want to expand from just Famers Markets into Supermarkets and use these totes as a replacement for plastic bags in a larger scale. If you want to be a part of this movement, don’t hesitate to contact us, we’re always looking to grow our community.

The Story of
The t-Tote Logo & Slogan

With the help of our artistic friends Rita Motta and Catalina Rojas and our families, we came up with a design and slogan for our logo. We wanted it to inspire our community to take a stand against plastic waste and realize the t-shirt freebees they were accepting without ever using.

The logo was created in a way so that companies or nonprofits that want to promote this idea or partner with us can have their logo printed in the middle instead of ours. Our goal has always been to facilitate sustainable efforts in our community and educate our neighbors.

Want t – Totes for your business or event?