Americans throw away 81 pounds of clothes per person per year. Thatโs 26 billion pounds annually!
According to the EPA, only 15% of clothing in the United States gets reused or recycled.
Youโve heard the statistics. How are you going to change them?
Four Ways to Do Good with Your Old Clothes & Shoes
1. Sell Gently Used Items
Local Option:
- Bring to a local thrift or consignment store to sell.
Online Options:
- Thredup โ Ship your clothes for free and get paid for what they sell.
- The RealReal – The place to sell luxury fashion online
- Poshmark โ Take a picture on your phone and list items within minutes.
- Tradesy โ Easy way to sell your clothes online.
- Vinted โ Another good online option.
2. Swap Gently Used Items
Local Options:
- Search for a clothing swap near you.
- Global Fashion Exchange (GFX) โ Holds swap events in various cities.
Online Option:
- Swap Society โ Online clothing swap
3. Donate Your Old Clothes & Shoes
Local Options:
- Planet Aid โ Find a clothing collection bin near you.
- Goodwill โ Good for gently used clothes but not recommended for recycling.
- Salvation Army โ Similar option to Goodwill.
- Freecycle โ Give away your clothes for free.
Online Options:
- Career Gear โ Donate your professional menswear; they help men who are trying to start over and could use a little help.
4. Recycle Your Old Clothes & Shoes (Even Old Underwear)
Local Options:
- North Face โ The Clothes the Loop program takes unwanted clothes and shoes at both their retail and outlet locations.
- Blue Jeans Go Green โ Denim recycling program that has partnered with J. Crew and Madewell. Bring your old jeans in to either store near you.
- Nike โ Will take up to 10 pairs of sneakers at participating stores & recycle the shoes for Nike Grind (sports turf).
- Helpsy – Find their collection bins in cities in the northeast United States such as New York and Boston.
- Earth911 โ Use their search function to find textile recycling options near you.
Online Options:
- Subset: Your old underwear isn’t trash! No matter the condition, wash your old undies, bras, and socks and then send them off to Subset. Theyโll downcycle them into materials like carpet padding and insulationโmuch better than a landfill!
- Community Recycling โ They send wearable pieces to entrepreneurs around the world to sell and recycle the remaining unwearable pieces. Ship for free through partner brand โ Timberland.
- Soles 4 Souls โ Takes gently worn shoes and distributes them to entrepreneurs in developing countries to support local businesses. They recycle shoes that are worn and even take single shoes. Drop off shoes in person at any DSW location or ship for free through Zappos.
- For Days โ Simply buy one of their Take Back Bags, fill it with clothes, and they’ll take care of the rest. A great way to keep clothes in use and out of the trash. You’ll earn store credit too.
- Wearable Collections โ Popular in NYC and has textile recycling collection options for the rest of the US.
Weโre Glad Youโre Onboard – Youโre Really Making an Impact!
According to the EPA, if every American recycles instead of throws out their old clothes, the environmental impact is equivalent to removing 7,300,000 cars from the road.
Now thatโs an agenda we can get behind, you can get behind, and hopefully, with a little sharing and nudging, those around us can too!
*If you liked this article and want to further the impact, please share with 3 people you know.
**Check out our deeper dive into the topic: How to Make a Positive Impact Recycling Your Old Clothes.
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Garik Himebaugh is the founder of Eco-Stylist, the go-to resource for ethical clothing. He’s also an international speaker on all things sustainable fashion. Garik loves coffee, climbing, and clothes.
