Program Overview
For years, one dedicated steward in Chelsea, MI gained permission from her large, industrial employer to take possession of all the lightly-used working gloves that factory standards had marked for disposal. The company (too modest to be named here) was supportive, but the volume quickly overwhelmed. That’s when The Stewardship Network got involved, picking up these extremely useful gloves, having them cleaned, sorting them into matching pairs, and getting them into (and onto) helping hands across the country. Today, gloves repurposed in this program’s earliest days are still put to use in service of a wide range of collaborative stewardship actions and we’re just warming up.
SMALL STEPS
SERIOUS IMPACT
Already, TSN Gloves for Good has equipped a staggering number of nature’s caretakers while diverting 17,254 pairs of gloves from landfills, avoiding 1,254 pounds of waste, preventing ~1.55 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and saving our recipients $26,583 dollars better spent elsewhere.
Special note: Are you an Ann Arbor, MI area steward of nature looking for a volunteer opportunity with tremendous impact in just 1-4 hours a week? Learn more about our Gloves for Good Coordinator Role here!
If you or your organization actively care for the land and water where you live and would benefit from a gift of these gloves, we’d be honored to assist. Local pickups (near Ann Arbor, MI) are available for free, or we’ll arrange to send them to you (within the continental US) if you can cover those costs. Please note that even with shipping expenses, our recipients are typically saving 70% – 90% compared to buying these gloves new. To start the process, just use the button at the top of this page or click here.
Currently available for new requests: Gtek gloves (medium, large/XL) similar to the images above, are steadily in supply; cotton gloves are available in limited quantities and our stock replenishes slowly, so if you have a particular need for this type, please email gloves@stewardshipnetwork.org to coordinate. Thank you!
Program Accolades
“When we invite volunteers to join us for workdays throughout the year, it is so wonderful to be able to offer them all clean, comfortable gloves that fit well. Like most conservancies, we have old work gloves that we’ve offered volunteers in the past, but they are either worn to pieces, or only fit large hands. Being able to supply everyone with gloves that fit shows that we value all of our volunteers. We are able to host tree planting, garlic mustard pulling, and trail maintenance workdays with large groups and we never run out of gloves thanks to The Stewardship Network!”
Amy Lipson, Conservation Specialist
“This donation of gloves is a blessing beyond measure.” -Carrie from Dahlem Conservancy
“What an amazing program!!” -Andrew from the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy
“This program is a great idea. Thank you!” -Marshall from Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy
“I want to thank and acknowledge the volunteer who had a great idea and presented it to their employer. What a great way to reuse these gloves!” -Bill from the Boy Scouts of America
“We obviously have some of the most wonderful, dedicated volunteers in the region, but one of the things that ties them together, other than their love for our parks, is that they all need gloves!”-Nealy from Ottawa County Parks
“Thank you for including us in your amazing program! I can’t wait to share the good news with our team. We will put the gloves to to good use during our next beach cleanup!” -Brad from Surfrider Foundation Niagara Frontier Chapter
“We recently had gloves donated to us from your non-profit for our clean up last weekend and I wanted to share the impact your gloves helped us make! With 57 volunteers we went across 14 miles and collected over 3,000 pounds of trash along the Chattahoochee River in Georgia! Thank you so much for your support and for supplying us with your amazing gloves!” -Ben from the Venture Unknown Foundation
“These gloves will protect the hard-working hands of local environmental stewards, and they’re SO FASHIONABLE!!!!” –Kirsten from St. Clair County Parks and Recreation Commission
If you have photos or stories of these gloves in action, we’d love to see them and hear all about it at gloves@stewardshipnetwork.org
Gloves for Good Program Partners
Like so many great superheroes, the good people supplying these gloves prefer that their identity remains a secret. We thank them sincerely for powering this effort and their willingness to engage creatively for the betterment of our natural world.
Big thanks to our longtime friends (and office neighbors) Resource Recycling Systems for their expertise in analyzing the impact of this program, particularly its GhG emission reductions.
The team at the Saline, MI Allegra office has helped us with numerous projects over the years. For this initiative, they generously provide the boxes we use for organization / shipping.
Our friends at ECN have generously offered to help us distribute gloves across the Detroit area and we sincerely appreciate it.
Special thanks to our longtime allies at Mike Appel Environmental Design for transporting our gloves to and from the cleaners.
Cleaning services provided by Ann Arbor’s famous Mr. Stadium Laundromat. We thank them for restoring these valuable gloves to ready-to-work status and appreciate their ongoing support.
