How often do you go through your closets at home? What do you do with the clothes you no longer wear? Most people throw them out. Each American, on average, throws out 82 pounds of clothing or textiles per year. But there are other ways to clean out your closet. Donate your clothing to a local charitable donation center. Some of these centers even provide special support for military families. Isn’t that a better use of your old clothing? Here are the top reasons to donate your old clothing.
1. Save it from a landfill. Landfills are overflowing. Nobody likes to think about them and about what’s in them, but everyone should. By recycling or donating clothing, we keep it from the landfill, keeping a the landfills from overflowing a little bit at a time. In 2011, 2 million tons of clothing and textiles were saved from landfills and were recycled or donated instead. Not only is that 2 million pounds less waste the Earth has to deal with, it also helps countless people and families. People that otherwise may not have been able to afford clothing for the school year or a new jacket for winter are helped when others donate used clothing.
2. It can be used in other ways. Only about 50% of donated clothing is worn again. The remaining 50% can be used for stuffing couches and chairs, used as industrial rags, or even used as home insulation. Think your clothes won’t pass the test to be worn again? It doesn’t matter. There may still be a use for them.
3. Recycle more. Clothing and textile have one of the lowest recycling rates of any reusable material. With only 15% of clothing and textiles getting recycled or donated, that means that roughly 10.5 million pounds get thrown out each year. With so many clothing donation centers, clothing is easy to donate. The only reason for the low rate of recycling is that more people don’t donate their used clothing.
When the time comes to clean out your closet, choose to donate your used clothing to organizations that accept clothing donations. You get a clean closet, your donation can help a family in need, you can even show your support for military families with your clothing donation. The clothes may be sold to other people, or could be used as stuffing for furniture, industrial rags, or home insulation. You can feel good about your contribution to society instead of feeling nothing for your contribution to a landfill. Show your support for military families, people with blindness, and others that need clothing with your charitable clothing donation.
