How to reduce, reuse and recycle your clothing & footwear
If you are overhauling your wardrobe or making space for new items, make sure you dispose of your unwanted clothing correctly. Clothing can be recycled and reused in many ways, but not through regular curbside recycling collection.
The average US citizen throws away an estimated 70 lbs worth of textile waste annually?, yet over 95% of it can be recycled and reused.
Recycling your clothing will:
- conserve raw materials and save water and energy
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- reduce landfill
- provide affordable clothing to needy families and individuals.
Reduce
- Reduce your need to recycle clothing by buying for the long term
- Buy better quality clothing that will last longer
- Buy sustainably wherever you can to avoid supporting unsustainable supply chains
- Freshen your look with accessories
- Swap or borrow from friends and family members for special occasions, rather than regularly buying new clothing that is only worn a handful of times
- Plan your clothes shopping like you would grocery shopping and avoid wasteful impulse buys
- Buy clothes that can be layered so that you can wear them in multiple seasons
- Look after your clothes by following care instructions
- Investing in small repairs can be a cost-effective way to make your clothing last longer
- Shopping your wardrobe is a fashion movement which encourages consumers to take a fresh look at clothes already in their wardrobe, in hopes that they will rediscover garments that may not have been worn in a while
- Keep your wardrobe tidy so that you can see everything that is available to be worn.
Reuse
- Reduce – Reuse – Recycle
- Look for ways that your clothes can be reused. Hand-me-downs, charity shops, community and online marketplaces, garage sales and swap meets are all ways to resell or reuse your unwanted clothing
- Recycle clothing in good condition by donating to your local charity store or second-hand clothing shops
- Check with your charity shop to confirm which items are accepted, and whenever possible, take your clothes in during opening hours and hand them to someone working there
- Remember that leaving items outside a closed store or next to a collection bin is illegal dumping (Please place items inside of the Bin’s opening).
- You can sell clothes through online marketplaces, community markets and garage sales or give them to family and friends
- A range of other clothing donation programs offer their proceeds to various good causes such as helping the homeless, disadvantaged people looking for employment, and local and international communities in need of clothing and footwear. So whether you choose New Day Reuse or not please Recycle or Reuse and avoid waste in landfills.
Recycle and repurpose
- Some retailers now run recycling programs and accept used clothing in store which are resold or processed for rags, house insulation or other textile by products
- Curbside recycling does not process Clothing & Shoes and because of this those items will end up being wasted in the landfill if not recycled properly.