Clothes are fun, and sometimes we buy them when we don’t really need them. Clothes express our personality, and exploring the different styles can be an exciting adventure. However, if you were to pull out all of the clothing you own and throw it in one huge pile, you would be amazed at how much material is actually there. Clothing leaves a huge carbon footprint in our environment. The amount of carbon emissions just from transportation is staggering – from the cotton fields to the factory, the factory to the store, you to the store, and back home again…phew! Plus, many new clothes are treated with formaldehyde and other chemicals. You definitely can’t eliminate your clothing footprint, but you can do things to reduce it. Here are a few ways to shop “greener”, and there are also a few suggestions on how and where to properly donate or dispose of old and unwanted clothing.
Vintage and Resale Stores
The best (eco-friendly) way to shop is at vintage or resale stores. All of the clothes are used so you save the energy and toxicity of making more new clothes. These stores don’t accept just anything. So, you know that the products have been checked for damage and quality. Purchasing clothing from vintage or resale stores has a smaller amount of chemicals because the clothing had time to air out and wash out any unwanted chemicals. Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange (www.buffaloexchange.com) are excellent examples of vintage/resale stores that carry gently used brand named clothing that are also cheaper. You can also use the websites – www.resaleshopping.com or http://vintagewhere.com – to find vintage and resale stores near you!
Share and Reuse
If you have several articles of clothing, shoes, or accessories that you don’t want anymore, consider trading with your friends! Pull out all of the things that you will never wear again and lay it out. Have your friends do the same, and take from each other’s pile. If you have things that are stained or too worn, don’t throw them away. You can use those old clothes for pajamas or workout clothing.
And those gym shoes you have worn to death, don’t throw those out either! You can reuse them as outdoor, yard work shoes. If they are completely worn out, you can donate them to Nike’s “Reuse-a-Shoe” program that will process and recycle your old shoes into sport surfaces- basketball courts, tennis courts, running tracks, and playgrounds. Just mail or drop off the shoes at a Nike location. So far 20 million pairs of shoes have been donated! Visit www.nikereuseashoe.com to find more information. You can also donate your shoes to Soles 4 Souls, an organization that collects shoes for people in need. When donating your shoes to any organization, make sure they are still in good shape for someone else to use.
Goodwill and Salvation Army – Plus Their Connections with Recycling
Salvation Army and Goodwill accept everything when you want to donate all of the old “junk” from your home. Although charities can’t sell everything, so most have connections to textile recyclers that take anything the charities don’t need. The textile recyclers turn old clothing into wiping rags which are sold to gas stations and paint shops. The shredded clothing can be turned into carpet padding or soundproofing insulation. While some fibers (especially wool) can be re-spun, re-dyed, and re-woven into brand new clothes. Unfortunately, not all charities have connections to the textile recyclers. If they don’t, then you can send the clothes directly to the recyclers through the 24-hour drop-off bins that are found in parking lots and central locations. Visit this link- http://earth911.com – to find these locations.