Project Repat T-Shirt Quilt

With years of participation in the marching arts, a giant pile of custom T-shirts can quickly accumulate. Eventually you have more than you can wear, but you can’t throw them out either—oh, the memories! Your T-shirt collection can be easily made into a cozy quilt with Project Repat.

Customers go to ProjectRepat.com and order their quilt, then mail in their T-shirts. A few weeks later, a finished quilt arrives in the mail. The quilts are made in Massachusetts and North Carolina with recycled materials.

“We know how hard people work, and this is a great way to preserve those memories,” says Nathan Rothstein, co-founder of Project Repat.

Rothstein and his business partner, Ross Lohr, were inspired to create Project Repat after realizing how many used T-shirts are discarded and shipped overseas.

“We are working hard to make it easy and affordable for people to upcycle instead of discarding,” Rothstein says. “There are more than 2 billion T-shirts printed and sold in the United States alone. There are so many shirts out there. We can reuse stuff that has already made a huge environmental impact.”

The name Project Repat comes from the word “repatriating” as the company brings textile jobs back to the United States. “We think that people should get paid a decent wage, and consumers should care about where stuff is made,” Rothstein says.

The quilts are made with your T-shirts and PolarTec Fleece and come in a variety of sizes. Visit ProjectRepat.com to order or buy one as a gift.

About author

Elizabeth Geli

Elizabeth Geli is the assistant editor of Halftime Magazine and a journalist/communications professional in Southern California. Her 11 years at the University of Southern California (USC) Trojan Marching Band included time as a flute player, graduate teaching assistant, and student advocate. She holds a bachelor's degree in Print Journalism and master's degree in Specialized Journalism (The Arts) from USC.