Long before Al Gore made it fashionable to be eco-friendly, a group of friends living in NYC came up with the idea for Wearable Collections. We must admit that we had ulterior motives for starting a clothing recycling company.

In November of 2000, one of our partners, Ethan Ruby was struck by a car while crossing Delancey St. in lower Manhattan, leaving him paralyzed from his chest down. This event drastically affected all of our lives. Ethan being a conduit of positive energy, would not let the group wallow in pity. He took a leadership role by becoming the president of the NYC chapter of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, one of the leading spinal cord injury research facilities in America. We found ourselves constantly brainstorming ideas for fundraising. Being NYC residents ourselves, we were overwhelmed with the amount of waste produced in our city and figured there must be some valuable goods being tossed away daily.

After seeing one of our neighbor's bags of clothing waiting to be picked up for collection, sitting in the hallway for over a week, a light bulb went off. What if we could bring the convenience that New Yorkers demand to clothing recycling? By placing bins within apartment buildings, residents can now recycle clothing as easy as they can recycle cans and newspapers. Not only are we able to divert textiles from landfills, we are able to raise money for charitable organizations. We believe that this is a winning formula and are proud to be among the businesses making NYC a leader of the Green revolution.

Note from one of the founders of Wearable Collections

Dear Philanthropist,

Thank you for your interest in Wearable Collections, a socially conscious organization designed to make it fast and easy for people to donate their used clothing. Simply put, we would like to provide a used clothing recycling service for your organization. This will help to decrease the amountof clothing that ends up in landfills and maximize the clothing available to impoverished communities around the world. Most importantly, it enables us to provide crucial funding to many charities, mainly The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. This organization is important to me and thousands of others who have suffered spinal cord injuries, for which there is currently no cure.

Seven and a half years ago I was hit by a car while crossing a street in lower Manhattan. The car ran a red light, hit another car in the intersection, and then both collided into me. The injury left me paralyzed from the chest down and in constant pain. I spent months in various hospitals and even more time in physical and psychological rehabilitation. As I was introduced to the harsh realities of living as a paraplegic, my family and I had to face the horrifying fact that there was no cure for my condition. During this time I found out about one of the leading research facilities in the world, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. While I continue to work in the financial sector, I now spend a significant amount of time raising money for charities who are desperately in need of funding. Wearable Collections came about in part to provide a steady stream of funding for spinal cord injury research. I am determined not only to survive this devastating experience, but to also positively impact the environment around me. Please let us help you be apart of this simple and effective medium of philanthropy.

Sincerely,

Ethan Ruby
President
Wearable Collections