Closing one chapter, opening another

After three years of building Ripple, the sale of our building and the need to bring back all collection bags for the move prompted me to reflect on what’s next. After much thought, I’ve made the decision to close this chapter of Ripple.

Ripple began as an experiment, to test an easy-to-use system that tackled two big issues: child material hardship and textile waste, while also tracking personal impact. Because of you getting behind this idea, we’ve been able to achieve some incredible things together:

👕 4.4 tonnes (35,493 items) of children’s textiles diverted from landfill

👖25,886 items donated to tamariki living in hardship, clothing more than 500 children for a year each, plus hundreds of loose items provided for teens

♻️9,135 items recycled into new products through ImpacTex

🧵472 items repaired or repurposed

💦A conservative 2.1 tonnes of CO₂ prevented from entering the atmosphere

🪀Launched our toy reuse, repair, and recycling system

💻Created the RePack, our laptop sleeve made from our own textile waste

None of this would have been possible without you - the families, schools, businesses, and partners who believed that small actions could create big ripples.

To our families:
Six hundred of you moved over 2.5 tonnes of clothing through collection bags across the country - many of you multiple times. A special shout-out to Sara, who alone sent 119.5 kg (1,192 items in total). It’s been such a joy getting to know many of you and to share your family’s impact. Thank you for backing me and Ripple. We truly do have some amazing parents in Aotearoa.

To our community partners:
Te Wāhi Whakaora Rotorua and District Women’s Refuge, Starship Foundation, Middlemore Hospital Neonatal Unit  and special thanks to Sue at Oranga Tamariki and Linda at Women’s Refuge Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s been a privilege to support your amazing mahi in a small way.

To our business supporters:
Thank you for hosting Gear Drives, welcoming Ripple into your workplaces, and helping shine a light on material hardship and textile waste. Huge gratitude to All Good Ventures, NZ Post, Envirohub Bay of Plenty, and Westfield in particular for your support.

A very special thank you to Downer:
Megan, Alice, and the wider team - your support of Ripple at all levels, from hosting bins to trialing new ideas, has meant the world and is deeply appreciated.

To ImpacTex, our neighbours, partners, and friends: thank you for everything.

And to the amazing Martine, Seiko, and Annette:
Thank you for helping me through not just the clothing mountains, but also the big ups and downs of this journey.

With our bags, boxes, and bins collected, there isn’t much left to wind down. If you have any questions, feel free to pop me an email at michelle@ripplemovement.co.nz

While Ripple’s clothing operations are closing, the work continues - through education and circular consultancy, helping schools and organisations rethink resources in new ways.

Our free educational resources for schools on textile production and waste will remain available on our website to download and share. I’ll also continue to be available via the email above.

Thank you once again, for making a ripple.

Michelle
Ripple