If you want to help yourself, your community and the planet all at the same time, recycling clothes is great way to do it. Every year over 2,000,000, tonnes of clothes end up in landfill in the UK alone. Naturally, this is putting an enormous strain on the planet. The sad thing is that the majority of the clothes that end up in landfill are perfectly wearable, so the pollution that this causes is unnecessary.
By recycling your clothes, you can also help yourself. This is because it is now possible to get cash for your old clothes, which you can use to buy some new ones. If you are not worried about being paid for your old clothes, giving them away to others in your community can provide others with much-needed clothing. It can also allow charities and other organisations to raise money. Whichever way you look at it recycling your clothes is good for everyone, so here are a few ways you could consider using to do it.
Community Projects
If you are not worried about receiving money for your old clothes, the best option is to look for community projects that need clothing. Local homeless shelters will offer the clothes to their clients. They especially welcome winter clothing, such as coats. Most charity shops are happy to take good quality garments because they know that they can sell clothes either directly to the public or to a recycler.
Other organisations such as playgroups welcome old clothes because they can wash them and adapt them for children to wear while painting. Local animal shelters also welcome old clothes and linen, because they can use it as bedding for their residents.
Getting Paid for your Old Clothes
On the other hand, if you are short of cash it does not make sense to give your old clothes away. Fortunately, there are plenty of places that you can sell your old clothes.
You can list them either on an auction site such as eBay or a classified site such as craigslist. Expensive items, in particular branded clothes usually sell better than you think of these sites. Taking them to a thrift sale or tabletop sale is also a good way of selling your old clothes.
These days, it is also possible to sell them to resell or recycling companies who also operate on the web. These companies will give you a quote for your old clothes. If you like, the price you can sell large items such as wedding dresses, designer dresses and suits to specialist High Street outlets that then sell them on or hire them out.
Other Recycling Options
Old clothes are great for other things as well. If you have a fancy dress party to go to rummage through your wardrobe and see if there is anything in there that you can transform.
You can also use old clothes for crafts projects such as making patchwork items or for rag rug making. If all else fails you can always cut up T-shirts and use them as cleaning cloths.