On our website and in some of our blogs, I mention and have written about why we think it’s a great idea to purchase higher quality items for your wardrobe. There are multiple reasons for this but one I like to focus on is durability. For me, this is a good way to know you have a quality product and one of the best justifications for making the purchase. It used to be that quality and longevity went hand in hand, this of course would vary depending on the product you are speaking about but if something doesn’t last you a reasonable amount of time than how good can it really be?
Fortunately, with clothing this doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue. Planned obsolescence doesn't appear to have crawled its way into the fashion industry yet. Occasionally you might buy a piece of clothing that has a seam tear out on you but if you are buying at least slightly above average quality clothing, than durability probably isn’t too concerning. There are some exceptions to this like…t-shirts. You knew it was coming. Seriously though, t-shirts are virtually the only item of clothing that I really wear out, well, shoes also but they can obviously receive a lot of punishment. I take good care of my clothes but inevitably I will end up with either holes in my t-shirt, popped threads, undone seems or it’ll just look worn or out of shape. So, what do you do when you have clothes that are old looking, wore out or you just don’t want them any longer? Recycle. That’s what we will be covering today, steps you can take to recycle your used clothing so you don’t have to throw them in the trash and in the process maybe help someone out.
There are multiple ways you can recycle your clothes but I will just go over three ways and those will be based on the condition of the clothes that you plan to recycle. These are just suggestions of course and you can do whatever you like with the clothes you own.
Donate: I use this method for the large majority of my used clothes because they are typically in pretty good shape when I’m done wearing them and this method is quite easy. It’s just a matter of making sure whatever I’m donating is clean, putting it in a box or bag and dropping it off at Goodwill. Done. There are many organizations that accept clothing as donations beside Goodwill, such as Savers and the Salvation Army. In turn these organizations use those donations to help people and their community. This is my favorite way to recycle clothes.
Consign/Resell: This method is best used if you have clothing that is in particularly good condition and also possibly a little higher end in quality. Typically, these stores will inspect any clothing that is brought in and make sure it’s of the quality that they like and also something they want to sell or consign. They may not want everything you bring in but if they like it, you can actually make some money off your old clothing. Not a bad deal. This isn’t the easiest method to recycle, but it’s relatively easy. Plato’s Closet, Turnstyle and Urban Exchange are the ones I tend to see most often. What’s nice about this method also is that not only do you make some money out of it but you are helping someone save money on a nice piece of clothing. That’s awesome of you! This is my wife’s favorite way to recycle clothes.
Textile recycling: If you have clothes that are very worn, torn or generally useless to another human being, then textile recycling is the way to go. If you are not familiar with this term it’s reusing your old textiles (clothes, towels, sheets) in ways they weren’t initially intended. A very typical way would be to tear up your old t-shirt and use it as a shop rag for when you change the oil in your truck. Maybe your getting into the overlanding or camping scene, you can cut up an old cotton sheet or cotton t-shirt, fray it out a little bit and use it as kindling in your fire pit. A more modern way would be to take your old clothes to a drop off center and then those clothes would be processed and potentially turned into cushion filler or home insulation. Whichever way you choose to recycle your textiles this is really getting the most out of these materials. That’s pretty cool. This can be a pretty easy recycling method if you’re doing it at home, not all areas are set up for drop-offs and recycling these materials so that may be a little more difficult. Recycling and sustainability are getting so much attention that its getting easier and easier to find ways to recycle in this manner.
There you go, a few options available to you to ensure you are getting the absolute most out of your clothing (and other textiles). Now that we have seen how much good you can do with your old clothing, might I suggest taking a look at our premium cotton t-shirts? The high-quality and long-lasting Favorite Tee and Perfect Tee. They will take care of you for as long as you own them and can also take care of the next person who is lucky enough to get their hands on it.
