What to do with old clothes?

The numbers are ruthless: every year we buy 100 billion (!!!) items of clothing. We throw away 92 million tons . Experts predict that by 2030 we will reach 134 million tons ¹ . There are piles of clothes in our closets that we no longer wear. Because they are out of fashion, they no longer fit us, but they are still crammed into attics or crawl spaces, waiting for better times. Theoretically, we know that we buy too much , but we don't stop doing it. Today, the average buyer buys 60% more clothes than 15 years ago.

Sociologist Sophie Woodward from the University of Manchester estimates that 12% of women's wardrobes are " inactive clothes " . ² . Those that we don't wear. Ones that will most likely end up in a landfill or, for those who have their own yards, in bonfires. This is the case with 85% of the clothes thrown away every year in the United States. The average American throws away 37 kg of clothes a year ^3.4 .

Clothes production contributes to global warming.

If these numbers don't impress you, let's try something else. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions . The process of producing clothes releases 1.2 billion tons of gases into the atmosphere ⁵ . Only 12% of these materials are recycled . Only 1% of fibers , according to data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, are used to produce new clothes.

Meanwhile, up to 60% of clothes can be reused ⁶ , and another 35% can be processed or transformed. However, the European Commission points out that "if textile waste is to be recycled and have any economic value for collecting organizations, new recycling technologies together with sorting technologies need to be developed" ⁷ .

Why do so many clothes end up in landfills instead of being recycled?

In the case of most clothes, we can talk about the so-called downward (“cascading”) recycling. This means that old clothes are turned into materials and products that have less value than the original material. That is, they are used to make, for example, mattresses, insulating mats, industrial cloths - which then, after one additional life cycle in the household or industry, end up in a landfill . Again: why? Well, because clothes are simply difficult to recycle. And that's why it's easier to produce a new dress from plastic bottles than from an old dress.

Recycling clothes is very expensive.

If you don't know what it's about, it's probably about money. In order for clothes to be recycled, they must be sorted (properly) . This is largely done manually, requiring many (thousands) of workers – and a lot of time. So it is expensive . When clothes arrive at a place to be recycled, they are sorted not only by fabric, but also by color . You have to remove zippers, patches, tags - all this takes time and a lot of money. Simply put: it's not worth it. In addition, few clothes are made of 100% cotton or polyester - most are blends (e.g. cotton with viscose or polyester). And this makes recycling difficult.

Tags are problematic – in two ways. If they are missing or difficult to read, it is difficult to tell what the garment is made of. And if there are any, they need to be removed because they are usually made of plastic, even in the case of cotton products. Although subsequent startups are investing in research and new technologies, there are no solutions that could be used on a large scale.

What to do with unnecessary clothes?

Corporations know that consumers are becoming smarter and more aware. At least the number of those aware is growing and the zero waste movement is gaining popularity. That's why they engage in recycling research and searching for new technologies. They do this, among others: Zara and H&M, which also try to meet customer expectations in stores where you can find containers for old clothes . If you donate old clothes, you will get a discount on new ones. This is one of the ideas for what you can do with the clothes lying in your closets. Other? It's always a good idea to share clothes and give them to someone who will still need them. This is how children's clothes are distributed to subsequent families , and children quickly outgrow them. Clothes swaps are becoming more and more popular - it's a great idea for a low-cost wardrobe refresh. And you can make an original rug or rug from old T-shirts.

Bibliography:

1. “Quick Question: Why Can't We Just Recycle Our Old Clothes?”, Sustainable Fashion Forum, November 16, 2021, thesustainablefashionforum.com.
2. Abigail Beall, “Why clothes are so hard to recycle,” July 13, 2020, bbc.com.
3. “Textiles: Material-Specific Data”, United States Environmental Protection Agency, accessed July 1, 2022, epa.gov.
4. “Environmental impact”, truecostmovie.com, accessed July 1, 2022.
5. “A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion's future,” Ellen MacArthur Foundation, accessed July 1, 2022, ellenmacarthurfoundation.org.
6. Ewa Szekalska, “Still too much clothes become waste,” November 3, 2016, Teraz-srodowisko.pl.
7. “(Used) clothes, or a few words about textile recycling”, Joanna Spiller, Teraz-srodowisko.pl.