Listen to this articleIntroducing Sortworthy, the Florida-based startup offering home pickup service of textiles and shoes in Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville Florida to champion sustainable change – together. Founded on the 8R Zero Waste ecosystem (Reduce, Rethink, Recycle, Regift, Recover, Repair, Reuse, or Refuse) Sortworthy is committed to tackling the issue of textile recycling.
Below is our recent interview with Arnold Sanchez from Sortworthy:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your company?
A: It is no secret that environmental impacts are front of mind for millions of Americans. Every day landfills are packed to the brim with goods polluting the air and water supplies. The EPA estimates that landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, but why? Items like textiles and shoes that can be recycled are not being recycled and the consequence is the health of the community. However, one company is on a mission to rally the community together and close the production loop by recycling used textiles and shoes into second-hand sellable goods.
Every year over 20 billion pairs of shoes are produced, 150 million tons of textiles and only 1% of that gets recycled. Understanding that change comes as a collective effort, Sortworthy is encouraging community members to schedule a pickup to recycle their old shoes and clothing to prevent these items from filling the landfills.
Furthermore, Sortworthy is partnering with schools, places of worship, and non-profits to collect pre-loved items in addition to its like-minded network of retailers, thrifters, and charity stores to offer take-backs and inventory liquidations.
Through proof of concept, dedication to innovation, and unwavering commitment to creating sustainable change, Sortworthy’s purpose-driven vision is coming to fruition.
Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: Our announcement has been received with great enthusiasm. We have established communication with several organizations looking to partner with Sortworthy. The announcement was timely and certainly piqued the interest of many in Miami-Dade county.
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Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: We offer free pickup of unwanted textiles and shoes with a purpose of keeping them out of the landfills. We work closely with commercial properties, local multi-family housing, schools, churches and other industries. We believe every home and every commercial establishment is a potential partnership. About 90% of shoe waste ends up in landfills. This contaminates the environment by emitting chemicals into the soil and groundwater. Our goal is to help solve this problem by creating ways to reuse, repurpose and repair unwanted footwear – and the reality is that nearly 95% of used clothing can be reused or recycled.
Q: What can we expect from your company in next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: Sortworthy has ambitious goals to scale operations into additional states and countries beyond Florida. Within the next 6 months we fully expect to have operations in Texas. This business line will include home pickup for the Dallas, Plano and Frisco metro areas.
Beyond Texas, we are looking at a few additional strategic states in the United States as well as exploring Canada, Europe and Asia. These locations would come online within 12-18 months.
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Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: The best thing about our company that people might not know about is that we partner with locations to contribute two things, reduction of textile waste (promoting ESG), but we also offer businesses and organizations funds for their collected material. Essentially, we help them contribute to a sustainability mission, and provide them much needed funds as well.
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