23Zero Partners with Stitching Hearts Worldwide to Give Outdoor Gear a Second Life and Support Those in Need
September 2, 2026
The 23Zero and Stitching Hearts Worldwide partnership is giving discontinued outdoor gear a new purpose by transforming quality materials into useful humanitarian goods for people in need.
What happens to quality outdoor gear when it no longer has a place in a current product lineup?
At 23Zero, we believe the answer shouldn’t automatically be “throw it away.”
Through this new partnership with Utah-based nonprofit Stitching Hearts Worldwide, 23Zero is donating discontinued products containing durable outdoor-grade technical fabrics and reusable components such as webbing, buckles, zippers, and hardware. Instead of allowing those materials to sit unused or eventually become waste, Stitching Hearts Worldwide volunteers will repurpose them into practical items including backpacks, tarps, bags, and other necessities.
It’s a partnership built around a simple idea: quality materials still have value, even when their original purpose has changed.
From Outdoor Gear to Humanitarian Supplies
Outdoor products are built to handle demanding conditions.
Heavy-duty technical fabrics, reinforced webbing, durable zippers, buckles, and other components are chosen because they can withstand repeated use in the outdoors. When a product is discontinued, those materials don’t suddenly lose the qualities that made them valuable in the first place.
That presented an opportunity.
Rather than viewing discontinued products only as excess inventory, 23Zero began looking for a responsible way to extend the useful life of those materials.
The solution was found close to home.
Stitching Hearts Worldwide, headquartered in Pleasant Grove, Utah, brings volunteers together to create humanitarian products for refugees, people experiencing homelessness, disaster victims, children, families, and others facing difficult circumstances in the United States and around the world.
The organization already works with donated materials to create items such as quilts, sleeping mats, backpacks, and other practical goods.
That made the partnership a natural fit.
Why This Matters
Every manufactured product represents materials, resources, transportation, energy, and labor.
When a product reaches the end of its commercial life, the easiest option is not always the most responsible one.
For 23Zero, this partnership provides another path.
Discontinued products that still contain usable materials can be broken down, repurposed, and transformed into something useful again. Durable fabrics may become tarps or bags. Webbing and buckles can become components of backpacks. Zippers and hardware can find their way into entirely new products.
The result is more than simply keeping materials out of a landfill.
It extends their useful life while putting them into the hands of people who can genuinely benefit from them.
From Discontinued Gear to Something Useful
Durable outdoor materials don’t lose their value just because a product leaves our lineup. Through Stitching Hearts Worldwide, those materials can continue serving a purpose.
Recover
New, discontinued 23Zero products are identified for their reusable outdoor-grade fabrics, webbing, buckles, zippers, and hardware.
Repurpose
Stitching Hearts Worldwide volunteers transform those durable materials into practical new products.
Serve
Finished backpacks, tarps, bags, and other necessities can help people facing difficult circumstances at home and around the world.
23Zero’s Commitment to Sustainability
A Commitment to More Sustainable Materials
The 23Zero and Stitching Hearts Worldwide partnership builds on sustainability efforts already underway at 23Zero. With the introduction of ECO13B, we began incorporating certified recycled materials into outdoor gear while maintaining the durability and performance expected in demanding environments.
ECO13B is made from 100% certified recycled 900D Polyester Oxford.
Approximately 13 recycled PET bottles are used to create one square meter of ECO13B fabric.
The recycled fabric retains the durability, quick-drying performance, water resistance, and Light Suppression Technology 23Zero gear is known for.
From Recycled Bottles to Outdoor Gear
Materials that might otherwise become waste can instead be transformed into durable outdoor equipment. ECO13B was introduced as a way to reduce the environmental footprint associated with manufacturing while continuing to produce purpose-built gear for camping and overland travel.
That same thinking now extends beyond manufacturing. Through the partnership with Stitching Hearts Worldwide, discontinued products and components can also find meaningful new uses rather than being discarded.
A Local Partnership with a Much Bigger Reach
Both organizations call Utah home, but the impact of the partnership can extend far beyond the state.
23Zero is headquartered in West Valley City, while Stitching Hearts Worldwide operates from Pleasant Grove and coordinates volunteers who create humanitarian goods for communities both domestically and internationally.
For 23Zero, finding a Utah organization capable of putting these materials to work was especially meaningful.
From 23Zero Finding Stitching Hearts Worldwide right here in Utah was exactly the kind of solution we were hoping for. We have new, quality materials that may no longer have a place in our current product line, but they still have tremendous value.
Keeping those materials out of landfills is important to us, but even more meaningful is knowing they can be transformed into useful goods for people who genuinely need them. It’s amazing that organizations like Stitching Hearts Worldwide exist and that their volunteers are willing to put their time and talents toward doing so much good.
23Zero Stitching Hearts Worldwide Partnership is Powered by Volunteers
The materials are only one part of the story.
The other is the people willing to turn them into something new.
Stitching Hearts Worldwide was founded by Krysti Wright with a mission to ease suffering and create meaningful opportunities for people to serve others. Volunteers contribute their time and skills to transform donated materials into finished humanitarian products.
That hands-on work is what turns a piece of outdoor technical fabric, a zipper, or a length of webbing into something capable of serving another person.
From Stitching Hearts Worldwide We are so grateful to 23Zero for this generous donation and for seeing the potential in these materials.
Our volunteers are amazing at taking the resources we are given and turning them into something useful for someone in need. These durable fabrics, zippers, buckles, and webbing can be made into backpacks, tarps, and other much-needed items that will serve refugees, families, and others facing difficult circumstances.
It’s a wonderful example of what can happen when businesses and volunteers work together—we can keep valuable materials from going to waste and, more importantly, use them to bless lives here at home and around the world.
Stitching Hearts Worldwide Impact
Small Acts of Service. Meaningful Impact.
Stitching Hearts Worldwide brings volunteers together to create handmade humanitarian products for people in need. From quilts and sleeping mats to backpacks and other essential items, every project is built around service, compassion, and practical support.
Built to Last. Now Built to Serve Again.
Durability has always mattered in outdoor equipment.
A rooftop tent, awning, storage system, or piece of camping gear has to withstand weather, travel, repeated setup, and demanding environments. That requires materials designed for longevity.
This partnership creates an opportunity for some of those same materials to continue performing long after their original role has ended.
A piece of fabric originally intended for an outdoor product may eventually provide shelter.
Webbing and hardware may become part of a backpack.
A zipper that never reached the trail may still be used thousands of miles away by someone who needs it.
That is what giving gear a second life really means.
Looking Beyond the Product Lifecycle
Sustainability in the outdoor industry isn’t limited to what happens while a product is being manufactured.
It also means thinking about what happens afterward.
Can something be repaired?
Can it continue being used?
Can its materials serve another purpose?
Can waste become a resource?
There will always be products that change, evolve, or leave a manufacturer’s lineup. The goal is to find better answers for what happens next whenever possible.
For 23Zero, working with Stitching Hearts Worldwide is one example of how that can happen.
It builds on our commitment to creating durable, purpose-built outdoor equipment while looking for responsible ways to reduce waste and make better use of the resources already available to us.
From One Adventure to Another
Most 23Zero products are created with adventure in mind.
They travel across highways, dirt roads, mountains, deserts, campsites, and places far beyond the pavement.
These donated materials may now begin a very different kind of journey.
They may pass from a 23Zero warehouse to the hands of a volunteer in Utah. From there, they may become a backpack, tarp, bag, or another essential item. Eventually, that finished product could reach someone experiencing displacement, homelessness, disaster, or another difficult circumstance.
The original product may never reach a campsite.
But the materials can still go somewhere meaningful.
And in many ways, that may be their most important journey yet and one that 23Zero is happy to be apart of every step of the way.
About Stitching Hearts Worldwide
Stitching Hearts Worldwide is a Utah-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Pleasant Grove. Founded by Krysti Wright, the organization creates service opportunities for volunteers to produce humanitarian goods including quilts, sleeping mats, backpacks, and other needed items.
Those products support refugees, people experiencing homelessness, disaster victims, children, families, and other vulnerable populations in communities throughout the United States and around the world.
About 23Zero
Headquartered in West Valley City, Utah, 23Zero designs rooftop tents, vehicle awnings, camping gear, and accessories for overlanding, vehicle-based camping, and outdoor adventure.
We believe outdoor equipment should be durable, functional, and built with purpose. We’re also continually looking for responsible ways to reduce waste, extend the useful life of quality materials, and support the communities around us.
Learn more about 23Zero and follow along as we continue finding new ways to make adventure matter beyond the trail.
23Zero Stitching Hearts Worldwide Partnership: Looking Ahead
The 23Zero Stitching Hearts Worldwide partnership is a reminder that sustainability doesn’t end when a product leaves the factory, or even when it leaves our catalog. By finding new purpose for quality materials, we’re reducing waste, supporting our community, and helping ensure valuable resources continue making a positive impact.
As an outdoor brand, we’re proud to create products that inspire adventure while continually looking for responsible ways to protect the places we all enjoy. We hope this partnership is just one of many opportunities to build a more sustainable future, one thoughtful decision at a time.
Get Outfitted. Get Inspired. Get Going.
— The 23Zero Team
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