Waste-Free Community Grants Support New Community Partnerships to Reduce Textile Waste and Expand Economic Opportunity
Seattle Public Utilities is investing in community creativity and care through its 2026 Waste‑Free Community Matching Grants, supporting three organizations that are transforming textile waste into opportunity. This year’s awardees—CareMakers Collective, Refugee Artisan Initiative, and Transcend—are building systems that keep materials in circulation and strengthen economic pathways for refugee and immigrant women.
CareMakers Collective is tackling the hotel linen waste stream by training local women in industrial sewing and developing new methods to recover and rework retired linens. Their project will divert thousands of pounds of material from landfill and help hotels adopt long-term waste-prevention practices.
Refugee Artisan Initiative is launching Seattle’s first closed-loop model for upcycling institutional uniforms and sports jerseys. Through partnerships with Woodland Park Zoo and local sports organizations, RAI is turning retired uniforms into new goods created by refugee and immigrant women who receive paid training, support, and income.
Transcend is building on its successful 2025 pilot to create an integrated citywide textile reuse system. By intercepting landfill-bound textiles, expanding workforce training, and connecting materials to designers and markets through a new tracking platform, Transcend is helping Seattle reimagine how textiles move through our community.
Together, these projects will prevent more than 25,000 pounds of textile waste during the grant period, while growing an ecosystem rooted in creativity, equity, and environmental stewardship.
Learn more about the organizations we’re partnering with this year: