Making movement #4 💦

From tech sleeves to toys, and from community bins to Christchurch, it’s been a big few months for Ripple. If you’re new here or wondering what we’ve been up to lately - here’s a little snapshot of what your support has helped make possible.

♻️ RePack: small sleeve, big impact

Late last year, we launched Ripple RePacks, our protective tech sleeves made from recycled clothing. They're lightweight, showerproof and locally crafted from fabric that would’ve otherwise ended up in landfill. Every RePack supports our mission and thanks to a growing partnership with Recycle A Device (RAD), you can now choose to donate a RePack to a rangatahi receiving a refurbished laptop. It’s gear protection with purpose.

💼 Thanks for getting behind Gear Drives

We’re incredibly grateful to Southbase, The Warehouse Group and WSP Auckland and Christchurch for hosting Ripple Gear Drives during Recycling Week. Together, you donated kilos of children’s clothing, which were sorted into Gear Boxes and delivered to tamariki around Aotearoa or passed on to Impactex for a second life. Special thanks to Sylvia Park, too, for hosting our drop in recycling stand - it was awesome to team up with Impactex and connect with the public in person!

🧢 Community Bins = circularity beyond the office

We’ve been rolling out our community clothing bins - where businesses can sponsor a bin in a high-needs area and we take care of the rest. This means people can donate where they live, not just where they work. It’s one more way to build circular solutions that are visible, local, and easy to act on.

🚚 New Gear Box destinations

Thanks to Downer, we’ve extended our reach to the South Island - sending Gear Boxes to Cholmondeley Children’s Centre in Christchurch, which provides short-term, planned respite care to children in times of family crisis. We’re also continuing to support Women’s Refuge in Auckland and Rotorua, and deliver Gear Boxes to Middlemore and as of this week Auckland, and Starship Hospitals.

🌿 Tauranga tackles textiles

Our joint community initiative with Envirohub Bay of Plenty and Impactex, supported by Tauranga City Council, has kicked off beautifully. Locals can now donate kids’ clothing free of charge directly at 31B Glasgow Street, Tauranga from Monday - Thursday, 10am–2pm. 

🧸 Let’s talk toys

For World Sustainable Toy Day, we launched a pilot toy collection bin at Downer. While clothing is still 100% our main gig, this trial is all about keeping toys in play and out of landfill. High-quality toys are passed on to the Toy Library Federation of NZ and our community partners. Toys beyond repair are processed through our recycling network. It’s early days, but the results are promising...and playful.

📊 Ripple by the Numbers

Thanks to your support, here’s what we’ve achieved so far:

30,478 items processed

21,951 items donated

8,113 items recycled

414 items repaired or repurposed

407 kids clothed for a year

1.8 tonnes of CO₂ prevented from entering the atmosphere

Thanks for being here. Whether you’re donating a RePack, hosting a bin, sharing our socials, or just cheering us on. And we couldn’t do this without you.

The Ripple Team 💚