Sarah Janzen didn’t set out to launch a community revolution in sustainability — it found her. What began as a COVID-era upcycling project evolved into Blenderz Thrift Store, a thriving Edmonton initiative tackling the mountain of excess clothing that often ends up in landfills or shipped overseas.
“I was making these patchwork sweatpants during COVID,” Janzen recalls, “and I thought, maybe this could be a little side hustle. But when I went looking for materials, I realized new fabric was both bad for the environment and expensive.” This led her to thrift stores, where she encountered a startling discovery: the hidden waste behind secondhand clothing.
“I went to one thrift store, and the dumpster was overflowing,” she says. “Inside, I saw 1.5 tons of textiles piled to the ceiling. The store owner told me, ‘We’ve taken three loads like this to the dump this week.’ That was my ‘aha’ moment. I realized that thrift stores were exporting or trashing this stuff.”
What started in Janzen’s basement quickly outgrew the space as demand soared. Today, Blenderz operates out of a much bigger facility, where the team balances retail, recycling and workshops. The store accepts donations directly from the community, avoiding partnerships with thrift stores that Janzen says often prioritize profits over sustainability. Blenderz also offers “sponsor boxes,” where customers can pay it forward by covering the cost of clothing for others in need. “It’s like buying a coffee for the person behind you,” Janzen explains.
Blenderz isn’t just about redistributing clothing — it’s about teaching the community how to upcycle. “We started online workshops during lockdown, showing people how to make quilts and heirlooms from scraps,” says Janzen. “North America isn’t ready to pay for the labour it takes to make these things, but we can teach people to do it for themselves.”
The store also sells fabric and disassembled materials, from bolts of fabric to bags of denim seams. “People donate their fabric stashes, and we make them available to the community,” Janzen says. “It’s all about getting these materials into the hands of people who can use them.”
Get your hands on something “new” at Blenderz Garment Recyclers.
