Earth Day Activity: Recycle Your Unwanted Clothing
This Earth Day, be a part of the green revolution and spend Saturday cleaning your closet and recycling. Don’t throw away your old clothing, shoes, or bedding.
Earth Day is Saturday, April 22. and the theme this Earth Day is “Invest in Our Planet.” How do I get involved? There is no better way to take action and participate in the environmental movement than to recycle the clothing you’re not wearing. Clothing and household textiles make up 6.3 percent of our waste. That is equivalent to 81 pounds per person thrown away annually in the US. Meanwhile, clothing reuse and recycling reduce the need for more landfill space. It reduces pollution created by incinerators and saves the environment from harsh chemicals.
Earth Day Activity: Recycle Your Unwanted Clothing
Giving your clothing a second life is an impactful way to invest in our planet and make a difference. Most donated fabrics are reused and recycled into usable clothing, fiber conversion grade, and wiping cloth grade. A lost sock becomes pillow stuffing, ripped denim is transformed into household insulation, an old towel can become a rag, and your gently worn prom dress can get a second life with a teen going to their first dance.
(SMART) Short for Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles. is a global organization of companies involved in reusing and recycling textiles. Secondary materials are 95 percent of textiles (any fabric made of interlacing fibers) that can be reused and recycled: old clothing, curtains, bath towels, bed sheets, pillowcases, table linens, shoes, stuffed animals, scarves, pet beds, more.
Earth Day Activity
To donate clothing, it should be clean, dry, and odor-free. Reuse and recycle household goods; commercial linen too. Even if the item is stained, torn, overly worn, or out-of-date, do not throw it away; the textile recycling industry can recycle these items. Only wet (mildewed) or treated with a solvent-type liquid, such as gasoline or Goof Off, cannot be recycled.
So, here is what you can do with unused or otherwise unwanted clothing. SMART recommends using clothing collection bins in your neighborhood to drop off donations. Companies like SMART’s members run and operate these bins and adhere to a strict code of conduct. They are deeply committed to recycling and waste reduction. Through their business practices, SMART members are responsible for diverting billions of pounds of used textiles and other household wastes from landfills each year.
SMART encourages those concerned about the environmental impact of textile waste to seek out creative ways to reuse or “upcycle” their items throughout their homes.
SMART Executive Director Susan DeCourcey suggests, “Recycling clothing can even be a fun family activity. It is a wonderful way to do spring cleaning while teaching children how they can ‘Invest in Our Planet’ and make a difference for the environment”.
For more information on SMART and the work of its members, for-profit businesses in the textile reuse and recycling industry, visit www.smartasn.org
