Ask a question
Need help with textbooks, hours, returns or more? Ask a question.
Newsletter Signup
Stay in the loop on new product launches, giveaways, sales and more with our newsletter. Sign up.
When you combine a love for supporting our local London community with a mission to increase sustainability in the apparel industry, you get the close partnership between the Book Store at Western and Worth Love Again—an organization supported by Goodwill Industries (Ontario Great Lakes) and Fanshawe College. We are proud to provide end-of-use textiles from Western merchandise to the Worth Love Again team, who turns them into one-of-a-kind apparel and accessories. Together, this partnership stands for the planet, for people, and for community.
First, we collect garments that can’t be sold on their own in our inventory. These items are given to the team at Worth Love Again who plan what new products can be made using the materials. By providing these items to Worth Love Again, we lessen on-campus waste through diverting these garments from the landfill.
Next, the Worth Love Again team gets to work matching textiles with patterns and templates for bags, shirts, hats, and more. They provide skills training and fair employment opportunities to local Londoners through the process of designing and creating the final pieces. Each person on the team is empowered to make design choices that help the materials reach their full potential.
Lastly, the reimagined products are returned to the Book Store at Western, ready to be claimed by #purpleandproud members of our Western community. Explore the collection to find reusable bags made from discarded sweatshirts, neck warmers crafted from t-shirts, and more one-of-a-kind pieces.
These products are part of our Worth Love Again collection. Each item is unique, full of Purple Pride, and can be considered your own one-of-a-kind piece of Western.
Order online to receive a unique item chosen by our team or visit us in-store to shop the entire collection for yourself.
By launching this partnership and offering this special collection, we are proud to make a positive impact on campus, in London, and to our planet.
Worth Love Again strives to build a connection with the product maker, valuing their talent and potential. Each item is handmade in London, Ontario, where they operate a social benefits program that focuses on newcomer skills training, functional language education, and a supportive workplace culture with fair wages and benefits.
These products are created using a zero-waste model. Worth Love Again upcycles end-of-use textiles using 100% of the articles collected, and reimagines them into an assortment of products. This process diverts items from the landfill and leverages intentional design to embrace the full potential of each material.
Members of our Western community are able to shop this completely unique selection of products. By purchasing these #purpleandproud items, you’re supporting the sustainable and socially conscious practices that created them, while celebrating being part of Western. Whether you buy one as a gift, or to add to your own collection, your purchase makes an impact on the London community.
