Can you recycle clothing?

Hello Gaia lovers!

Today we will be discussing how to #recycle clothing and textiles or anything made of fabric. When you think of clothing, I’m sure you don’t think of pollution or landfills, but the reality is that there’s a huge amount of waste created by the production of textiles. More than 15 million tons of textiles are generated in the US each year, and 85 percent of them end up in landfills. Over 16 million tons of textile waste was produced in 2014, and only a little over two million tons was recycled, while more than 60 percent ended up in landfills. Fabric takes a very long time to decompose, especially one made of synthetic fibers.

The main concern with textile waste, apart from clogging landfills, is the environmental impact caused by its production. It takes a lot of water to produce textiles, about one third of the world’s fresh water resources. Textile dyeing and treatment also contributes around 20 percent of total industrial water pollution. The global textiles industry uses one trillion kilowatt-hours every year—that equals to 10 percent of the total global carbon impact. The manufacturing process of textiles also causes other types of pollution. The crazy thing about all this is that every textile item can be recycled as long as it’s clean and dry. Whether it’s worn, stained, or torn, nearly all items can be recycled, yet the average American throws away about 80 pounds of clothes each year!

Now that we know what kind of impact textile waste has on the environment, let’s see what we can do to help.

Donate and Recycle

Your town or city will probably not receive clothing or textiles with your other recyclables, but there are many programs and local recycling centers and charities that will take your used textiles. Many cities will also hold special events throughout the year for residents to drop off their used clothing. What many people don’t know is that clothing can be recycled into wiping cloths or processed back into fibers and turned into paper, yarn, insulation, carpet padding, paper money, animal beds, and many other items. The donation or recycling center you choose will determine which item can be recycled this way. Those items that are still in good condition will be resold at secondhand clothing stores, which usually have great programs they fund, or will be sent to developing countries. Here are some resources to help you reduce textile and clothing waste:

1. Vietnam Veterans of America - Available in over 20 states, the VVA assists veterans with hospital bills, food, and housing through the resale of used clothing. Visit Pick Up Please or their main page to have your items picked or to find drop-off locations.

2. Goodwill - Many people are wary of larger nonprofits such as Goodwill, but they have a great mission behind their work. They use the sales of donated items to fund job training programs and employment placement services for people who have disabilities or lack education. Use their locator for drop-off locations near you.

3. Soles4Souls & Clothes4Souls - This is a great nonprofit that collects new and gently worn clothing and shoes and sends them to impoverished countries around the world. They have many locations throughout the US.

4. Becca’s Closet - Support a beautiful cause and donate a prom dress to a high school girl in need. Check out the website and look for a chapter near you.

5. Room to Grow - Donate baby clothes to people living in poverty. They have local drop-offs in Boston and NYC. Check out their website for other donation options.

6. Salvation Army - Another large and well-known organization, the Salvation Army is over 150 years old, and it helps the homeless and less privileged. You can also organize a pick up through their website or look for your nearest location.

7. The Arc - Sales from donations help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Learn how to donate.

8. Earth911 - As mentioned in previous posts, Earth911 is an amazing resource to help you find recycling facilities anywhere in the country. Searching for textile recyclers, I found dozens of donation centers around my city.

9. If you feel distrustful of donating to places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army, look for shelters around your town or city. Women’s shelters are usually very open to clothing donations. Check out if any local schools have clothes drives or if any universities or community colleges are organizing events for collecting professional clothing for their students entering the workforce. The important thing is to do everything you can before throwing something out!

10. Buy and sell in consignment shops – If you have pricier items that you’re not ready to donate, look for consignment shops where you can sell them. The shop will take a percentage of the sale, you will make some money, and someone else will enjoy your item without having to buy something brand new. There are also websites like Threadup (all clothing) and The Real Real (high-end designer clothing), where you can mail in your items at no cost to you. The Real Real has some physical locations in major cities across the US.

11. Apps – Poshmark and Mercari are two popular apps where you can easily sell or buy new and used clothing. I have personally used both and have found some incredible deals and made some money. People have many misconceptions of secondhand clothing, but in these sites that are hundreds of brand-new items with tags that people have hanging in their closets. The used clothing is also in very good condition. I like to shop for heavy coats and designer bags on here because it saves me so much money. You can also sell and buy clothing items on Ebay, letgo, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp.

12. Clothes Swaps – Host your own clothing swap with friends. Your trash could be someone else’s treasure. I have friends who have hosted some really cool clothes swaps. Get a group of ladies together, have some drinks, and trade nice clothes. You can also use sites like Clothing Swap to help you find swaps near you or let others know of a swap you’re hosting. There are also fundraising events that usually have a small cover. Looks for events happening near you.

13. Rent – Services like Rent the Runway let you rent designer clothes and wedding dresses for a fee. There are also monthly subscriptions where they send you items every month, and you return them when you’re ready for more items. I think this is a really smart way to wear nice clothes but not have to worry about buying them, storing them, or donating them later on. All items come washed and ready to wear, and you save so much closet space and reduce a lot of waste.

The City of Boston holds four drop-off events each year to recycle clothing and textiles.

These are just a few resources, but you can find so many more online. Every city also has their own individual programs, so check out your town’s website for any additional resources.

Reuse

Another great way to help #reduce textile waste is to get crafty. Find ways to #reuse old clothes. There are many tutorials online that teach you how to transform old stuff into useful things. I have found tutorials on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Some people are very ingenious, and they have incredible ideas they like to share. Here are just a few I found:

@makesmthng is a great page on Instagram that focuses on reusing items and reducing waste. They have some great mini tutorials like this one on turning a pair of pants into a skirt.

Use old socks to make cute stuffed animals for the kids.

Use an old fitted bed sheet for the beach to keep the sand out. Another amazing page I follow is MetDaan. They have really cool ideas on reusing all kinds of textiles and full length tutorials on their Facebook page.

There are hundred of articles on Pinterest that teach you how to upcycle your clothing.

Old socks can be reused as cleaning rags or reusable Swiffer pads, finger less gloves, coffee cozies, and many other useful items.

If you have an old jacket that has lost its vibe, bring new life to it by adding patches, beads, buttons, etc. You could even sell your upcycled items on sites like Etsy.

This is my own jacket that I upcycled by adding a few really cool missing buttons.

There are also many ways to revive old T-shirts with beads and lace.

Jeans can be re purposed into amazing things like lunch sacks.

More ways to re purpose jeans.

Use old sheets or curtains to make fun hammocks for the kids!

My sister shared some ways she tries to reduce textile waste. She uses old curtains with cute patterns as tablecloths.

Have a deflated bean bag? Stuff it with old clothes.

Use old T-shirts to build a super cool quilt. This one is my brother-in-law's, and it has T-shirts of when he was in high school.

This quilt is my nephew's. I absolutely love it. It has so many memories of travels and fun places we've visited with him.

There are many more ways that we can reduce textile waste. I hope you can use some of these resources and ideas next time you're thinking of getting rid of clothes or any fabric. We as consumers are the main culprits of causing so much waste. The average person also buys 60 percent more items each year and only keeps a garment for about three years. Manufacturers actually do a much better job at recycling their waste. The fashion industry has also noticed the impact brands have on the environment. Renowned labels such as Reformation and Stella McCartney have come up with ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Before disposing of your textiles think about this: Recycling two million tons of of clothing per year is the same as taking one million cars from the street. So, let's make smarter and more responsible choices with our textiles.

Sources: the balance small business | SMART | Pinterest