Mennonite
Central
Committee

Thrifty to Nifty

Clever Ideas for Recycling

MCC Thrift Shops are recycling pioneers

In 1972, the year that MCC Thrift Shops first opened in Altona, Manitoba, MCC announced a significant cutback in material aid requests. Used clothing from North America was not needed in countries where MCC was doing relief and it was less expensive and more appropriate to purchase the goods closer to the scene of the emergency.

Donations of clothing and household items continued to arrive in local depots and the idea of selling the goods locally and forwarding the proceeds to MCC was born. Volunteers in the newly opened thrift shops developed clever ideas for turning unwearable and unusable surplus items into blankets, pot holders, pencil cases, garden gates - the ideas are endless!