Superheroes in recycled clothing
Joining forces to combat against the country’s largest culprit of landfill waste, ‘Team Impact’ is on a mission to educate both children and adults alike about the importance of protecting the planet from used textiles. These everyday superheroes are led by their leaders, Joe and Ken Whitten, and work tirelessly to raise awareness about the negative environmental impact of throwing away unwanted clothing and other textiles to ensure a greener future for all.
In 2014, the father and son team, Joe and Ken Whitten, started Apparel Impact as a textile recovery company with a vision to reduce local landfill waste, create jobs, and help their community. They began by placing a few clothing recovery bins they built from wood and renting a storage unit to collect clothing, shoes, and various textiles. As the collection grew, so did the company.
Today, Apparel Impact is a highly regarded veteran-owned business and is the fastest-growing textile recycler in the northeastern U.S. serving six states. The company is being recognized as the 2024 SBA New Hampshire Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year. The company has over 1,300 partners and customers that sponsor their drop-off bins ranging from small businesses, non-profit organizations, and government organizations to Fortune 500 companies. In 2023 alone, Apparel Impact diverted over 10 million pounds of clothing, shoes, accessories, and other textiles from landfills while at the same time providing over 4,000 individuals in need with free clothing and other resources at their community outreach events.
The team makes every effort to ensure that all items are either given to those in need, reused, recycled, or upcycled creating space in the landfills while at the same time saving billions of gallons of water and reducing carbon dioxide. The company has a policy to provide dedicated support to host schools in underserved communities and veteran organizations so that any identified need gets addressed immediately. The team routinely provides same-day drop-off service of items such as clothing, shoes, jackets, and backpacks for children or veterans in need.
Apparel Impact now occupies a 17,600 sq. ft. warehouse in Hooksett acquired using the SBA 504 loan program through Primary Bank and Capital Regional Development Council. The facility provides a central location to house its collection and sorting operations, space for the retail racks, and a comfortable workspace for its 38 employees.
To assist with educating the public at large, Apparel Impact has created the first in the nation educational comic book, ‘Team Impact’, to teach children about the importance of textile recycling and how to be a champion for the planet by minimizing the damage that textile waste has on our communities. The owners hope to use ‘Team Impact’ to create a legacy and change the way people dispose of textiles for generations to come. They hope to do this one story at a time. Stay tuned for the second edition of ‘Team Impact” coming soon.
“Our family has a strong history of military service, and being in the military certainly prepares you for business ownership. The discipline, the focus on teamwork, having a mission, and love of country are all, in our opinion, extremely complimentary to being entrepreneurs and business owners and a large part of our success,” said Joe Whitten (Army). Ken Whitten (Air Force) has dedicated his entire adult life to serving others. He has visited over 30 countries providing $40 million in medical equipment, food, clothing, resources, and most importantly, love and generosity - and doing it with very little to no income. He started the La Ganove Orphanage in Haiti after the earthquake which provided homes and caregivers for nearly thirty children who lost their families in the disaster.
Award winners were honored at the SBA’s 2024 Small Business Week celebration on Tuesday, April 30th, from 8:30 am to 11:30 am at the Tupelo Music Hall, Derry, NH.