Threadlines - The Thread Up Oxford Newsletter - March 2025
Textile Material Drop off Revamped
A new textile material drop-off policy means a new and improved process! Our goal is to make bringing textile material smoother and easier for everyone. What isn’t changing is the types of textiles we’ll accept. We will continue to accept all condition textiles, including clothing, bedding, fabric, yarn, home textiles and rags, as long as they are clean and bug free.
Previously, textile material was placed on a table to be weighed and sorted later by our volunteers. Now, we’re introducing a more hands-on approach to create a better experience for our donors, volunteers, and staff.
How It Works
🔹 Starting Tuesday, March 4th, textile material can be dropped off at Thread Up Oxford (5156 College Corner Pk.) on Tuesdays – Fridays from 11 AM to 4 PM.
🔹 When customers arrive, a friendly volunteer will greet them, weigh their items, and help process the donation.
🔹 A $0.25 per pound processing fee will apply to all products that we will not be able to redistribute quickly or to great effect for the organization’s current redistribution needs. We will continue to keep ALL textile material out of the landfill or from going overseas.
🔹 Many items will not have a processing fee! Socks in ANY condition as long as they are clean, Kids Clothing, Denim and Jeans, Sweatpants, Leggings, Athletic Pants, Yarn, and more as we figure out what’s needed.
New Textile Material Pick-Up Option
Can’t make it during drop-off hours? We now offer scheduled textile material pick-ups!
📦 In-town pick-ups (Oxford Township): $10
📦 Out-of-town pick-ups: $25
To schedule a pick-up, call us at (513) 273-1701 or email info@threadupoxford.org.
Thank you for supporting sustainable textile use in our community! Your contributions help keep textiles out of landfills and give them a second life.
Membership Opportunity
We are also now offering a membership program to allow our supporters to contribute to our mission, while receiving some fun perks along the way. Thread Up Oxford Members will receive:
Free textile material processing for a year.
A 5% discount at Uptown Threads
A 5% discount on creative reuse purchases at Thread Up Oxford
Annual memberships are $75 a year.
The Free T-shirt Problem
Every year, millions of event and promotional T-shirts are mass-produced, worn once or twice, and then discarded. These shirts—often branded with corporate logos, school names, or event details—rarely find a second life. At thrift stores, they sit unsold because most consumers aren’t interested in wearing a T-shirt from an event they didn’t attend or a company they don’t support. Many ultimately end up in landfills or shipped overseas, contributing to the growing issue of textile waste.
At Thread Up Oxford, we believe that people experiencing hardship also deserve better clothing options than discarded promotional T-shirts. Yet, we find ourselves with thousands of these shirts and few viable reuse options within the circular economy. While there are creative ways to upcycle T-shirts—such as making T-shirt yarn, rugs, and produce bags—these methods are extremely labor-intensive and difficult to scale.
Seeking Sustainable Solutions
Our goal is to find efficient, large-scale upcycling solutions that can transform unwanted T-shirts into valuable products while generating revenue to support our mission. To do this, we are seeking collaborations with designers, engineers, and innovators who can help us develop tools, machines, or processes that make upcycling—such as T-shirt yarn production—faster and more sustainable.
If you are interested in partnering with us to reimagine the future of textile waste, we’d love to hear from you! Together, we can create a solution that benefits both people and the planet.
Contact us at info@threadupoxford.org to get involved!
Exciting News: Thread Up Oxford Now Accepts Shoes!
We’re thrilled to announce that Thread Up Oxford has expanded our donation program—we now accept clean, good-condition shoes in addition to clothing and home textiles!
To ensure we make the most of your donations, we kindly ask that all shoes be:
✅ In wearable condition (no holes, significant damage, or excessive wear)
✅ A matched pair
✅ Free of mud and muck
Processing & Resale
Starting March 1st, donated shoes will be subject to our standard $0.25 per pound processing charge. While local shoe recycling can be a challenge, we’re making every effort to keep quality footwear in circulation:
Top-quality shoes will be available for purchase at Uptown Threads
We’re proud to partner with TOPSS food pantry to support their upcycling initiatives
Your donations make a difference—thank you for helping us keep usable items out of landfills and in the hands of those who need them most!
Thank You To Our Community Supporters!
We are beyond grateful for the generous support of three incredible community foundations!
Thanks to their contributions, Thread Up Oxford can continue expanding our mission of sustainability and community engagement.
Greater Oxford Community Foundation – $1,860.14 to update our Community Outreach & Education Kit, helping us spread awareness about textile sustainability.
Hefner Community Fund – $500 to support our Karma Bucks program, providing children in the Talawanda School District access to free clothing and essentials.
McCullough-Hyde Foundation – $300 to help expand our Karma Bucks program, reaching even more families in need.
These grants make a real difference in our community, and we couldn’t do it without the generosity of our local foundations. Thank you for investing in sustainability, education, and support for our neighbors!