We don’t often talk about recycling clothing. Until recently, it didn’t even occur to me that people would throw clothes away! But according to the Nation Resources Defense Council, Americans discard 68 pounds of clothing per year. We buy cheap, disposal clothing and then quickly get rid of it when the new trend comes out, wasting valuable resources - both in making new clothes and landfill space with the trashed clothing.
When you consider all the different ways to reuse clothing, it’s astonishing that much would be thrown out.
I did a post about some ways to reuse clothing. Obviously you can donate it, pass it on to a friend, use it for rags, etc.
I also gave some tips for usingworn out or stained clothes in crafts.
However, we also can help the environment by how we purchase clothes!
Here are 5 environmentally safe ways to purchase clothes:
1. Go for quality, well-made clothing that will stand the test of time. Quality over quantity.
2. Purchase your clothing from consignment shops. (If you're in Lancaster, PA, make sure to check out BUiLDiNG CHARACTER in downtown Lancaster for 2 reused clothing store options in 1 location!)
3. Purchase your clothing at thrift stores. You never know when you’ll find a major label at a major discount at Good Will, American Rescue Workers or Salvation Army! Check for their sales. Usually certain days are half-off clothes. Good Will has a discount card you can purchase to get even better deals!
4. Yard sales are a great way to get clothes at really cheap prices. You can often find clothes that are almost like new. This is especially true of children’s clothes! Look for ads for yard sales in your newspaper or on craigslist.
5. Join Freecycle and find clothes for free. Of course, if you are getting clothes for free, make sure to also list clothes that you no longer need on Freecycle as well.
Make sure to save your worn out jeans for a tutorial that I will be launching on Wednesday, January 18, 2012! Make Jewelry from Jeans!! If you want to know as soon as it’s available and get on the list for future tutorials, sign up for my Emerging Creatively Tutorials newsletter:
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