Embracing Sustainability With Goodwill Arkansas

Life Cycle of a Donation

Whether you’re making room for a new pair of jeans or replacing an outdated appliance, Goodwill accepts your donations of gently used clothing, household items, furniture, books and toys. Ever wonder what happens to your items after you’ve dropped them off? Or how your donation benefits the community? Look no further.

Community Success

People working strengthens our community. Thousands of Arkansans are learning or working because of you. And it’s your donations that make it possible.

Donations

Arkansans donate their gently-used items to Goodwill. To get the most out of your donations, we give them several chances to be sold.

Retail Stores

Donations that meet retail quality standards are sold at our local stores. Unsold items are purged from the sales floor and sent to one of our outlet centers.

E-Commerce

Some donations will secure greater value online. These items are set aside and sold through Goodwill’s E-Commerce platform, ShopGoodwill.com.

Outlet Center

Some items do not meet retail quality standards or went unsold at our retail stores. These items are placed in bins, rotated every 2 hours and sold by the pound.

Recycling & Salvage

Remaining donations are sorted, baled into recyclable commodities or disposed of. Some unsold items are sorted for secondary market sales.

Mission Support

Sales of donations generate support for our education and employment programs. Arkansans utilize these programs to build their skills and find employment.

Goodwill saves the waste in men and things.”

REVEREND EDGAR J. HELMS

Founder of Goodwill Industries

Most people aren’t aware of the fact that Goodwill was founded on sustainability principles. Starting in the late 1890s, Reverend Helms began finding salvageable materials to provide to individuals and families in need. In 1902, when Goodwill Industries was officially born, the focus was still on salvaging materials, but Reverend Helms learned that those he was serving wanted their own sustainable means of making a living.

He began repairing and then reselling the goods collected. In turn, this meant less waste in landfills as well as taking care of the community, creating jobs, and generating profits redirected to the mission.

GOODWILL’S RECYCLING MODEL FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Step 1 | Recovery

We actively promote donating as a form of recycling, giving Arkansans an easy, environmentally friendly, recycling option instead of landfilling their unwanted items. In the last year, we have expanded our recovery process to include home pick up options, which provides recycling service to groups who might not have access to transportation.

Step 2 | Reuse

The resale of donations gives unwanted items a second life. Sales of these affordable products directly benefit local communities and the environment by reducing material consumption. This step has been a key component to our mission.

Step 3 | Recycle

When reuse is no longer an option, we recycle. We are continually exploring ways to further expand our recycling options to include new categories not previously processed such as fabrication of discarded plastics.

Step 4 | Reinvest

The revenue generated through our reuse & recycling program is reinvested directly into the local communities that partner with us. This added 4th step sets us apart from what others in our industry are doing in recycling. We have expanded our reinvestment step in the past two years with the objective of greater impact on Arkansas communities.

FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY