Each year, on April 22nd, Goodwill of Central Iowa and people all over the world celebrate Earth Day. A designated day that was conceived in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. Nelson was inspired by the newly emerging air and pollution movements at the time that coincided with campus activism movements across the country. Ever since then, Earth Week (April 19–25, 2026) and Earth Day (April 22) became widely recognized events dedicated to raising awareness about environmental stewardship. Earth Day continues to live on annually to this day, encouraging each generation to develop sustainable habits that impact their homes and communities.
The idea of living a more sustainable lifestyle might be overwhelming at first, but once you lose the all-or-nothing mentality, it all becomes infinitely more approachable! At Goodwill of Central Iowa, our sustainability work and mission continue to help our own local communities by recycling, reusing, and repurposing. You can start your own sustainability journey right here at your local Goodwill of Central Iowa location! Whether you choose to shop at Goodwill or donate, you are making a guaranteed sustainable choice.
Did you know that we have multiple programs designed purposely to help you feel better about the future of your unused items? You might know that in addition to being a thrift store, Goodwill of Central Iowa also provides human-focused mission services, turning everyday donations and secondhand shopping into opportunities for people locally to build skills and find jobs, but did you also know that we recycle textiles and have an E-Waste program? When donating items to Goodwill of Central Iowa, you can always be sure that we’re going to maximize the purpose of your donations. Doing so has allowed us to divert nearly 18 million pounds of gently used items from landfills last year alone!
Our robust E-Waste program is one of our major sustainability initiatives that not all of our customers might be aware of. Any non-functional electronic devices that get donated to Goodwill of Central Iowa go through a rigorous process ensuring the data-erasure of any sensitive private information to prepare them for resale or recycling. This approach to sustainability not only makes a difference locally, but it also allows us here at Goodwill of Central Iowa to impact the production cycle by diverting e-waste from landfills, as well as reintroducing valuable materials such as gold or silver that are often sourced through unethical mining methods around the world.
Textile waste is another type of waste that has imposed serious complications to current sustainability efforts. As of 2020, the growth of textile waste in the U.S. is outpacing the growth of every other major category of waste, according to RRS, Textile Recovery in the U.S. In addition, clothing production has doubled between 2000 and 2015, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. You can celebrate this Earth Day and make a lot of difference by simply donating or shopping at Goodwill of Central Iowa. To us, it’s important that we not only remain good stewards of the donations that are gifted to us, but that we remain good stewards to our local environment. That’s why we take extra steps to ensure a second life for the items donated to Goodwill of Central Iowa, that includes exhausting all possible efforts of reusing and recycling any textile materials we receive before resorting to salvage.
Earth Week is a great time to examine your personal habits and think through ways to live more sustainably. Small changes, like checking your local Goodwill before buying something new, can make a big difference in reducing each person’s environmental footprint. Earth Day offers a timely moment to highlight how simple actions such as donating responsibly and choosing to shop secondhand, support both our mission and our community’s commitment to sustainable practices. These everyday choices extend the life of usable items, reduce unnecessary waste and help fund programs that create pathways to employment for our local community here in central Iowa.
