SHOP
T-SHIRT 2.0
Reborn Clothing transforms cherished pieces by ADDIE LADNER
H
ave you ever been stuck with a stuffed-drawer dilemma? All those old t-shirts—from high school sports and college clubs, fundraisers and 5Ks—hold sentimental value, but they take up a whole lot of space. Emily Neville knows what to do with them: turn them into something else. She started her Raleigh-based company Reborn Clothing in the hopes of sending fewer garments to the landfill, instead turning t-shirts and other textiles into useful items like blankets or throw pillows. The shelves at the N.C. State bookstore, where Neville is a student, are stocked with a line of products made from old campus activity shirts, but there are ways for you to repurpose your own sentimental t-shirts, too. “Clothing holds our memories,” says Neville. A baby's first onesie, a wedding dress, a late Grandfather’s scarf—Neville says she doesn’t want these items to sit in a closet collecting dust—or get thrown away, either. She hopes to continue the
story of meaningful garments by giving them a second life through Reborn. The company’s mission comes at an essential time: The fashion industry is the second largest polluter following the oil industry, producing an immense volume of textile waste in a culture of disposable, fast fashion. Keeping clothing out of landfills is Neville’s driving motivation. Through Reborn’s online ordering process, customers can mail up to five T-shirts or other sentimental garments to Reborn’s HQ, where they’ll be transformed into a practical yet stylish item, like a throw pillow, teddy bear, or camera strap, to use and cherish forever. Customers answer a handful of questions: what they’re looking to repurpose, which product they’d like, and what parts of the garments they want to stay visible. Reborn will send a packing slip and box to kick off the process. “Once we receive the clothing, the team creates a design. For example, if you send in three shirts, your pillow will encompass the most important parts of three shirts,”
photography by EAMON QUEENEY
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