Recycle old clothing

​What can you do with old clothing?  Currently, a lot of old clothing (an estimated 10 – 11 tons per year in the US) ends up in landfills.  The US EPA estimates that 5% of the contents of landfills consists of clothing.  The links to the three articles below provide good ideas and in some cases, links to organizations that will accept old clothing.  Here are some ideas:

• If the clothing is in good condition, sell it or donate it. 
• Some organizations will accept clothing that can no longer be worn.  Call your local thrift shop to see what they do with old clothing that cannot be sold.  Some will throw it away but others will send it to a clothing recycler.  You can also check to see if there is a clothing recycler near you.
• See if you can repurpose old clothing for rags, padding for packing boxes, rag rugs, etc. 
• Old towels and sheets can be used for rags or upcycled into something useful. 
• Some people make beautiful quilts with old T-shirts from special events in their lives. 
• Buy good quality clothing that will not quickly go out of style so you can wear it a long time.  It costs more up front but then it will be a long time before you need to spend money to replace it.  I have stopped shopping at stores whose clothing only lasted for 3-4 laundry cycles. 

https://www.rd.com/article/clothes-recycling/
https://trashisfortossers.com/how-to-recycle-old-clothing
https://earth911.com/style/clothing-recycling-mistakes/