Tons of clothing will now benefit the community thanks to the collaboration of several key role players during a container clean-up initiative at the NWU RAG Farm on Thursday, 16 April.

Under the leadership and initiative of Love Potch, the NWU’s Community and Stakeholder Engagement (CSE) office, together with RAG (Reach-out And Give), donated approximately 10 to 12 tons of clothing to support the For the One Crisis Pregnancy Centre’s Knit Together initiative.

Love Potch founder and manager, Arno van den Berg, and his team organised and identified the project and also managed the logistics of arranging transport for the clothes from the containers to a recycling plant in Potch Industria.

“The purpose of the day was to load a large donation of clothing that was collected through our Barefoot Day donations from the previous year,” said Michael Wade from the CSE office.

Wade added that the container clean-up helps create space ahead of the next Barefoot Day collection, which will take place on 14 May.

“Importantly, it ensures that the clothing donated by students reaches people in the community where it can make a real impact,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries is Knit Together, a project aimed at addressing both waste and unemployment. The initiative focuses on sorting, recycling and upcycling textiles into new streams, while also equipping women in crisis with entrepreneurial training and mentorship.

Clothing that would otherwise end up in landfills is redirected into thrift sales, donations, micro-business stock or repurposed products.

Working closely with the Pregnancy Help Network, crisis centres and local places of safety, the project empowers women to generate income through reselling clothing and small-scale production. In doing so, Knit Together not only reduces environmental impact but also restores dignity, independence and hope.
The process on the day moved quickly and collaboratively, with the large volume of clothing transported within roughly an hour.

“Multiple bakkies, trailers and trucks were used to transport the clothing from the containers to the vehicles,” Wade added.

Barefoot Day is the NWU Potchefstroom Campus’ annual donation drive, where students across residences and faculties contribute clothing and other wearable items. These donations are stored in containers at the RAG Farm and distributed throughout the year to organisations and projects supporting communities in need in and around Potchefstroom.