2008 Woodie Awards
Alum teaches how to 'Teecycle'
2004 graduate launches recycled T-shirt business
By Jeremy Medina
Nothing is better than a favorite T-shirt. The shirt that's a bit faded and tattered at the edges; the shirt that's miraculously still fit since high school; the shirt that people have even come to associate with you.
Marquette 2004 alumnus Tim Cigelske, took his affinity for his favorite T-shirts and started a business. Cigelske launched Teecycle, a Web site that sells recycled vintage T-shirts for $10 (including shipping and handling) and donates $1 of each sale to the River Revitalization Foundation, which works on environmental issues in Milwaukee. Cigelske said he has collected roughly 150 shirts so far. T-shirt enthusiasts can search them by size or category. For example, under the "really funny" category is a kid's large shirt that says "I go to school for the chicks" with cartoon baby chicks below it.
Cigelske, his wife Jess and friend Brian Battle (both Marquette alumni), post new pictures of T-shirts daily on the blog (with them as models). The idea for the business came to him last fall, he said.
"I was picking through an issue of Rolling Stone and found a glut of ads in the back for T-shirt companies," Cigelske said. "They all seemed to be kind of the same companies selling these $20 shirts with semi-clever slogans that people would get sick of in two weeks if they bought it."
The semi-clever shirts he's referring to are commonplace at stores like Urban Outfitters and Gap.
"One of the reasons why I like (Teecycle) and resale in general is that you know you are getting something that's one-of-a-kind," Cigelske said.
He admits one-of-a-kind might be cliché, but he believes each shirt has a different story to tell.
"Each shirt has a different history," Cigelske said. "You know someone wore that shirt and loved it at one point."
Cigelske uses classifieds and Craig's List to find rummage sales to add shirts to his collection. He's encountered a number of bizarre shirts, including an orange shirt that says "I selected books from my library" with its Spanish translation directly underneath.
The shirts have been found by Cigelske and donated by friends, family and coworkers, he said. John Adler, of the Kramp & Adler 102.1 FM radio show, donated shirts he's collected from traveling across the world as well.
Cigelske, currently a MKE writer and Whitefish Bay resident, hopes Teecycle will catch on and allow him to open eyes about recycling. Reduce, reuse, teecycle is, in fact, the Web site's slogan.
"My broader, philosophical goal with this is to remind people you can reuse these old things and value them, rather than going to the local Target and buying another thing off the rack," he said.
Marquette 2004 alumnus Tim Cigelske, took his affinity for his favorite T-shirts and started a business. Cigelske launched Teecycle, a Web site that sells recycled vintage T-shirts for $10 (including shipping and handling) and donates $1 of each sale to the River Revitalization Foundation, which works on environmental issues in Milwaukee. Cigelske said he has collected roughly 150 shirts so far. T-shirt enthusiasts can search them by size or category. For example, under the "really funny" category is a kid's large shirt that says "I go to school for the chicks" with cartoon baby chicks below it.
Cigelske, his wife Jess and friend Brian Battle (both Marquette alumni), post new pictures of T-shirts daily on the blog (with them as models). The idea for the business came to him last fall, he said.
"I was picking through an issue of Rolling Stone and found a glut of ads in the back for T-shirt companies," Cigelske said. "They all seemed to be kind of the same companies selling these $20 shirts with semi-clever slogans that people would get sick of in two weeks if they bought it."
The semi-clever shirts he's referring to are commonplace at stores like Urban Outfitters and Gap.
"One of the reasons why I like (Teecycle) and resale in general is that you know you are getting something that's one-of-a-kind," Cigelske said.
He admits one-of-a-kind might be cliché, but he believes each shirt has a different story to tell.
"Each shirt has a different history," Cigelske said. "You know someone wore that shirt and loved it at one point."
Cigelske uses classifieds and Craig's List to find rummage sales to add shirts to his collection. He's encountered a number of bizarre shirts, including an orange shirt that says "I selected books from my library" with its Spanish translation directly underneath.
The shirts have been found by Cigelske and donated by friends, family and coworkers, he said. John Adler, of the Kramp & Adler 102.1 FM radio show, donated shirts he's collected from traveling across the world as well.
Cigelske, currently a MKE writer and Whitefish Bay resident, hopes Teecycle will catch on and allow him to open eyes about recycling. Reduce, reuse, teecycle is, in fact, the Web site's slogan.
"My broader, philosophical goal with this is to remind people you can reuse these old things and value them, rather than going to the local Target and buying another thing off the rack," he said.
Published: 5/1/08 Section: Marquee
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Brian
posted 5/01/08 @ 4:12 PM CST
Hey! Nice piece Jeremy!
Though it's not quite our slogan, "Reduce, Ruse, Recycle" is pretty darn hilarious. Wait two weeks and it'll probably be one of those top selling semi-clever Urban Outfitter tees. (Continued…)
Tim Cigelske
posted 5/01/08 @ 5:57 PM CST
Anything has a better ring than "Teecycle: Give the child laborers of Honduras a break." Thanks for a great article, Jeremy.
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