Today, December 31, 2024 marks the 366th One of a Kind REUSE! T-Shirt that I've released this Leap Year. And I thought I'd hit this one out of the park (pun very much intended).

So, why is this shirt 700 dollars? Well, I have a question first. Do you think that work encouraging reusing existing materials and protecting our planet for future generations is worth one millionth of a star baseball player? I do. 

When I found this shirt at a thrift store, I almost instantly thought of this idea. As a lifelong fan of the sport of baseball, I obviously am very well aware of Shohei Ohtani. He's definitely the best player that I've ever seen play in my lifetime and will probably be the best ever. But last year, when I heard that he got the largest contract ever in sports history of 700 million dollars for 10 years, I was irked.

Why is there such a huge disparity with entertainment and people shaping our world; educators, nurses, non-profit workers, farmers, and people who are doing good for the future of our planet? (Remember, you can't play baseball without a planet.) Most of these people will never even see a fraction of this amount of money in their lifetime. And many are struggling these days. So this shirt is really meant to get that conversation going.

I'd also like to point out that If this shirt does sell, $650 will be donated to Reuse Alliance. This non-profit's mission is to prevent resources from becoming waste by advocating for, collaborating with, and supporting reuse enterprises that recirculate materials into our communities.

And speaking of 700, I am of course reminded that it takes 713 gallons of water to make one new cotton T-shirt. In 2024, I listed 366 different 1 of a kind REUSE! T-Shirts, thus saving 260,958 gallons of water by printing these on rescued garments instead of new ones. That's enough water for 1605 people to drink 64 ounces a day for an entire year! Yes, really.

See the 2024 Gallery of One of a Kind shirts here.

Thanks for all the support,
Alex

SHIRT SPECS

This upcycled shirt has our REUSE! slogan printed over the original design and is completely one of a kind.  When Alex travels around the country, he hand picks unique pre-owned shirts with designs that would add a great texture behind our slogan. In addition to being the only one in the world with this shirt, you help save the all of the water and other resources that a new garment would have used.

• Artist: Alex Eaves
• T-Shirt Color: Red 
• Front Overprint: REUSE! slogan (Gray)
• Back Print: None
• Size: Men's Extra Large
• Length: 28 inches
• Armpit to Armpit: 23 inches
• Waist: 48 inches around 
• Garments: This is a pre-owned T-Shirt that has been washed and given a second life.
• Categories: Sports