Lisa’s Quality Rags, Owned and Operated by Woman with Autism

When a job with Goodwill ended because of funding cuts, the family of a 29-year-old woman with autism decided to set her up with her own business.

When Lisa Witte first went to work at Goodwill at the age of 15, she was trained to take clothes out of boxes and put them on hangers. Her aide saw that she could do much more than that, despite not being able to read or write or say much more than “Hi, I’m Lisa.” By last summer, Lisa was cutting rags from donated clothing that Goodwill was unable to sell. The rags were sold to be used for industrial spills and equipment cleaning. Lisa could produce 1000 rags per month.

Goodwill was happy to help Lisa and wanted her  to succeed in her new business. They sold three cutting machines at a discounted price to Lisa and her parents, and passed over the customer list at no cost.

Lisa’s Quality Rags is set up as a micro-enterprise through Hope Network, which provides Lisa with a “skill builder” aide during her 25-hour work week. Four area thrift stores donate unusable shirts. One of the thrift stores, New Life, provides rent-free space for Lisa’s business in the basement.

Read more about Lisa and her rag business in an article by Lorilee Craker here. Photo of Lisa is by Emily Zoladz.