Let's Go Green

It’s Easy To Go Green

Sustainability and stewardship are the core of what sets Goodwill apart from other thrift stores and donation centers.  Your donations are diverted from local landfills, extending the life and value of the items you donate. In fact, last year nearly 24 million pounds of donated goods were diverted from Central Florida landfills!

Every item you donate to your nearest Goodwill Industries of Central Florida retail thrift store and Donation Xpress Center fuels job training and job placement services, empowering your friends, neighbors, and loved ones to reach their goals.

Donate for the Greater Good

As the sustainability movement grows, businesses and consumers are increasingly concerned about reusing and recycling. We believe that by choosing to donate gently-used instead of throwing them away, we can make a significant impact on the environment and our community. By diverting textiles and other non-compostable materials from landfills, we can reduce the amount of waste produced, conserve natural resources, and help support those in need.

  • Textiles can take up to 200+ years to decompose in landfills.
  • Roughly 2,000 liters of water are used to manufacture just one t-shirt.
  • Over 17 million tons of textile waste ended up in landfills each year.

The Sustainability Cycle

Donations – Less than two percent of donated items are sent to local landfills

Your donations fuel the Sustainability Cycle, giving new life to “old” items you no longer need, use, or want. Goodwill collects gently used clothes, electronics and household goods, and sells them in our retail thrift stores to create job placement and training programs, helping many people in Central Florida gain meaningful employment and the tools to reach their goals.

Sustainable Shopping – Choose secondhand first

By shopping at Goodwill Industries of Central Florida this spring, you can give someone in your community and your wardrobe a fresh start. When you shop at one of the more than 30 Goodwill stores in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia county, you help Goodwill create local job training and employment placement opportunities and other community-based programs and partnerships.

Outlet Stores – Bulk purchase priced by the pound

If items donated to Goodwill are not purchased in one of our retail stores, the move onto next step in the Sustainability Cycle – the Outlets. Goodwill Industries of Central Florida has two outlet centers located in Orange County. Textiles, furniture, shoes, children’s toys, and more can be found at the Outlets, and are sold by the pound.

Aftermarket and Salvage Operations – Global impact

Textiles and other items that do not sell at the Goodwill outlet stores are still destined for something greater. These materials are compacted into bales, weighing as much as 1,000 pounds, and through more than 75 Aftermarket and Salvage partners, sent to South America, Africa, and Asia to be repurposed.