Laredo Thrift and Center for Creative Reuse

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09/21/2026

LTCCR is officially a member of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce 🎉🎉🎉

09/19/2026

Yesterday, the LTCCR team took a field trip to the landfill, and I’m still processing what we saw.

First, a huge thank-you to the folks at the Environmental Services and Solid Waste Department for working with us on this project. We truly appreciate your time and transparency.

What you’re looking at is FOUR DAYS’ worth of clothing/textiles: 86 TONS. And we were told this was actually a slow week. On average, even more ropa usada trucks come through.

While walking through the landfill, we saw an enormous amount of clothing that was still usable, whether it could have been worn, resold, donated, repaired, or upcycled. We even found clothing with thrift-store tags still attached. Yes, I’m looking at you, Salvation Army and Goodwill. 😡.

We spoke with several workers who told us the amount of clothing coming through has only gotten worse. Textiles take up valuable airspace, get tangled in equipment, and create problems with compaction.

I left feeling frustrated, angry, and heartbroken.
This is exactly why LTCCR exists. We don’t have a physical location yet, which means we can’t intervene at the scale we know is possible. But seeing this firsthand has made our mission even more urgent.

We already have more than enough clothing and goods in circulation, yet we continue producing and consuming at an incredible rate while usable materials are buried in our landfills.

So what can we do?
♻️ Rewear what you already own.
♻️ Repair and alter instead of throwing away.
♻️ Shop secondhand. I recommend the EstateSales.NET app to find estate sales near you.
♻️ Donate usable clothing and goods to local independent thrift stores, nonprofits, and shelters. Please don’t donate trash.

And if you want to help us build a better system here in Laredo, we need your help.

💚 Support our GiveButter campaign—link in bio.
🏭 Know someone with an unused warehouse in Laredo? Send them our way.
💰 Know of grants or funding opportunities? Let us know.
📣 Share this post.

86 tons in four days is overwhelming. But it also shows us just how much material there is to rescue.

Thank you for listening.

09/11/2026

Laredo! 💚🌎

My birthday is on the 21st, and this year I wanted to celebrate by doing something fun while also giving back to the community . 🎂♻️

We’re excited to team up with Laredo Cultural District and Keep Laredo Beautiful for a morning cleanup drive at Zaragoza Plaza Square!
What better way to celebrate than getting outside, getting our hands a little dirty, and helping keep Laredo beautiful? 🌱🧤

Monday, September 21 • 8 AM
📍Casa Ortiz, 915 Zaragoza St.

Come celebrate my birthday with me — let’s give Laredo a little birthday love, too. 💚♻️

💭DM us to register!

09/04/2026

The conversation regarding textile waste in Laredo first began during a public City Council meeting back in October 2023.

I’m so grateful to have found this video because it captures a moment that, at the time, felt like just the beginning of a conversation — but looking back now, it was the beginning of something much bigger.

Seeing where we started, how much we’ve learned, and how far this conversation has come is incredibly meaningful. There is still so much work to do, but I’m proud that we’re continuing to ask the hard questions, bring people to the table, and work toward real solutions for Laredo.

Sometimes, progress starts with simply having the courage to start the conversation. ♻️

I FINALLY found the video of when I first gave a citizen comment during a public city council meeting regarding the text...
09/04/2026

I FINALLY found the video of when I first gave a citizen comment during a public city council meeting regarding the textile waste issue in Laredo. This was in October 2023...

I wanted to take a moment to spotlight the creator who has been helping us behind the scenes with our website—Zach Laing...
09/03/2026

I wanted to take a moment to spotlight the creator who has been helping us behind the scenes with our website—Zach Laing || CEO of Torren!

Torren is an Arizona-based business development company focused on strengthening small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Founded by Zachariah Laing, Torren was created to provide practical, accessible support to organizations seeking sustainable growth and stronger operations.

Torren provides business planning, research, operational development, organizational strategy, and nonprofit support. Its work is designed to help entrepreneurs and organizations solve practical challenges, improve efficiency, develop stronger foundations, and turn ideas into actionable plans.

Torren seeks to expand through partnerships with nonprofits, small businesses, entrepreneurs, educators, and community organizations. By sharing resources, expertise, and opportunities, Torren aims to create a network where stronger organizations contribute to stronger local communities.

What I really appreciate about Zach is that he doesn’t just throw ideas at you—he takes the time to understand what you’re trying to accomplish and helps you figure out how to actually get there. He’s professional, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in helping the organizations he works with succeed.

If you’re a small business owner, entrepreneur, nonprofit, educator, or community organization looking for some extra guidance and support, I highly recommend reaching out to Zach.

Thank you, Zach, for helping us bring our vision to life! We’re so grateful to have you in our corner. 🤍

08/13/2026

📚✨ STORY TIME! ✨📚

I was digging through a pile recently at one of the ropa usadas when this jacket caught my eye. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary vintage pilot’s uniform jacket. Buttttt… upon closer inspection, I started finding clues. 👀

One identifies the brand as Donald S. Lavigne, a company founded in Miami in 1923 that became the first local manufacturer of uniforms for the Miami Police Department.

Then I found another tag with a date: August 24, 1967. And underneath the “MR.” designation was a handwritten name—Kurt [last name illegible🙄].

And then there’s another tag that reads: “Issued by authority of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Union Made.”

Okay… now I’m invested. But THEN…I found a handwritten note tucked inside one of the pockets that says: “Pan Am / Pan American Jacket Airlines.”

I think I may have just stumbled across a 1960s Pan Am pilot’s jacket!✈️💙

And of course, I’m geeking out because I already have a little collection of iconic vintage Pan Am travel bags and even some of their advertising stirrers. So naturally, finding an actual piece of Pan Am history hiding in a pile of discarded clothing feels like the universe was specifically trying to find me. 😂

This is exactly why I love digging through the pisos (and why I want to save it ALL). You just never know what you’re going to find—or what story is hiding in the pockets, behind the labels, or stitched into the seams. The coolest things are sometimes the things everyone else overlooked. 🧵✈️📚
VintageClothing

Thank you Maria Teresa Ruiz Laredo Morning Times LMTonline for the incredible article regarding the fashion show. The ar...
08/11/2026

Thank you Maria Teresa Ruiz Laredo Morning Times LMTonline for the incredible article regarding the fashion show. The article was in the August 10th edition. Copies can be picked up at the LMT office- 5711 McPherson, Unit 203.

✨Still coming down from the “high” of the fashion show. ✨ I truly don’t think I’ll ever be able to adequately put into w...
08/09/2026

✨Still coming down from the “high” of the fashion show. ✨

I truly don’t think I’ll ever be able to adequately put into words how grateful I am for everyone who helped make this happen.

A huge thank you to our incredible sponsors, designers, models, volunteers, El Quinto Sol , Janice Lardey , ｔｈｅ ｐｏｐ ｒｏｃｋｓ , George Washington Jr. Karen ☪️ | Laredo Hairstylist ✨ Laredo Cultural District , lux.lens.lex and Mauricio Garcia Martinez for helping us pull this show together in just a little over 2.5 months. What we accomplished together in such a short amount of time is something I’m incredibly proud of.

And to everyone who came out, supported us, shared our posts, donated, encouraged us, or simply took the time to learn more about what we’re trying to do — thank you. It truly means more than you know.

I’m beyond grateful to the Laredo community for believing in this mission and for showing us that there is a real desire for something like this here.
This fashion show was never just about the clothes. It was about starting a conversation around textile waste, creative reuse, and keeping textiles in circulation rather than allowing them to become waste. And this is only the beginning.

My biggest goal now is to establish a physical space where we can take this mission even further — a place where textiles can be collected, reused, reimagined, and kept in circulation; where we can offer hands-on workshops and educational programming; and where the community can come together in a flexible, creative space.

I’m so excited to see where this takes us.
Thank you for believing in this. Thank you for showing up. And thank you for being part of the beginning. ❤️

We have so much more to do. And I can’t wait. ♻️

✨ These are my favorite 20 photos that were captured by Blue Photography & Videography . Please be sure to follow and support her in case you need photos done. You can see the rest of the photos in our Linktree.

🧵 WHAT IF WE HAD THROWN IT ALL AWAY?This Friday, LTCCR presents RECONSTRUCTED: A Sustainable Fashion Exhibit—a collectio...
08/04/2026

🧵 WHAT IF WE HAD THROWN IT ALL AWAY?

This Friday, LTCCR presents RECONSTRUCTED: A Sustainable Fashion Exhibit—a collection of 50+ vintage garments and textiles that tell a story about fashion, history, and what happens when we decide something is no longer worth keeping.
Many of these pieces were destined for the landfill.
Instead, they were saved over the course of the 4 years that I’ve been piso-hopping at the ropa usadas.

Now, they will be on display at Casa Ortiz ( Laredo Cultural District ) as examples of the craftsmanship, materials, design, and history that can exist within the textiles we so easily discard.

From vintage clothing to historic textiles, RECONSTRUCTED offers a closer look at the things we throw away—and asks a simple question: What are we losing when we treat clothing as disposable?

Come explore the exhibit, learn about textile waste, and see more than 50 pieces of fashion history that almost didn’t make it here.

📍 Casa Ortiz- 915 Zaragoza St. | Laredo, TX
📅 Friday, August 7
⏰ 6–10 PM
🎨 During Caminarte

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Laredo, TX

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