Americans throw away about 68 pounds of clothes on average each year!
Not only that, materials used to make clothes are environmentally toxic and use substantial amounts of energy and water.
If you are going to buy new clothes, here are some sustainable materials to look for:
- Cotton
- Hemp
- Bamboo
However, buying used (a/k/a recycled) clothing leaves an even smaller footprint!
The 12-15% of people who shopped consignment in 2006 saved 2.5 Billion pounds of clothes from waste!
How to Recycle Your Clothes:
- Sell them on eBay
- Consign them at a local consignment shop
- Have a yard sale
- Donate them to Goodwill or Salvation Army (or similar organization). Even if you clothing is worn or threadbare, they pass them on to organizations who can use them as rags, etc.
- Make something out of them or donate them to a diy-er! Make a quilt, handbag or anything else you can make out of fabric!
Just don't let your clothing end up in the dump! Pass it on....
(statistics from Tips for Recycling Clothes on earth911.com; also Facts About Clothes from the same website has more information about how clothing is made)
What do you do with the clothing you no longer want or need?
6 comments:
I cosign most of my kids cloths and donate mine. If anyone needs a place to donate, there is a Relay for Life Team I know who does a huge yard sale 2 times a year. They are always looking for donations...and it is a great cause.
Heather
Great Post! I will pass it on:)
Awesome, Heather, another great idea!! People sometimes give me cloths (because I make stuff with 'em) Now I know what to do with the extras I get!
Thanks, Jen!
clothes, that is....
I give them away, make other stuff out of them, or pack them away, waiting for the style to come back around...which it inevitably does!! (On the good side, I only shop when I really need something most of the time now. Learned something over the years...But I still LOVE looking!! ^_^)
Yeah, I rarely buy new clothes at all, honestly! Just when I really need something (which is hardly ever!) I actually hate clothes shopping, so it's easy for me to not do it!
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