William Good: Used clothing chic

JANUARY 22, 2008—As Nick Graham, founder of Joe Boxer, drove by a Goodwill store, he had a groundbreaking idea: Remake the clothes inside into a fashionable, green line of clothing. And so, William Good was born.

In partnership with Goodwill in San Francisco, Graham collects clothing from Goodwill’s warehouse and reinvents them with a team of designers. He splits the profits from this venture with the nonprofit Goodwill.

“There’s already so much clothing in this country, why would we make something new?” Graham asked Paper Magazine.

So far, the clothing line is a challenge for retailers. “Every piece is one of a kind, which can be a challenge for retailers who never know what they’re ordering,” Graham said.

The for-profit William Good employes top-notch designers to create works of clothing art, featuring applique and stuffed animals. All items are produced from re-used materials in San Francisco.

Nick Graham’s reused works of art are available online at ShopWilliamGood.com and Goodwill’s Fillmore Street store in San Francisco.

By Care2 editorial staff

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Danuta W.

1:51AM PDT on May 9, 2012

Thanks for sharing!

May 9
send a green star

Joe R.

2:55PM PDT on May 6, 2012

Thanks Annie.

May 6
send a green star

g d c.

4:01PM PDT on May 3, 2012

May 3
send a green star

Michele W.

9:03AM PST on Jan 3, 2012

Every 6 months or so I organise my clothes. Anything I have not worn in that 6 months is donated.

January 3
send a green star

11:44AM PST on Mar 11, 2011

fashioning some points for the animals ...

March 11
send a green star

Nansye L.

5:47PM PST on Jan 23, 2011

Bravo! Great story. I only wish the author gave us a means of knowing where to purchase, or how to recognize the designer?

January 23
send a green star

Mary T.

7:38AM PST on Jan 19, 2011

Hi, I too like nice clothes, unfortunately, there are no goodwill or salvation army stores near where I live, I'd have to travel 50 miles. However, I am a garage sale junkie-some of my best clothes come from garage sales, price tags still on, and really, you can tell if these people are clean or not, and clothes are so easily sanitised. I have clothes now that I need to donate, could be to ARC, which there is one about 30 miles from here. Hummm-Food for thought! Thanks for the article, now I know I'm not a wierdo.

January 19
send a green star

Kath P.

7:23AM PST on Jan 19, 2011

Ever since heavily scented personal care products have become so widely used (contaminating everything with chemicals) buying second hand is a thing of the past for me.

KS G.

12:38AM PST on Jan 19, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Barbara B.

12:14PM PDT on Aug 27, 2010

every 3 months I go through all of my closets and donate what I know I will never use. There are some out there that doesn't know what a warm sweater or a pair of shoes even feel like