What do I do with all my unwanted clothing?
A recent post of Fashion Revolution reminded us that donating clothing to a charity shop is not necessarily the most sustainable way to clear out our wardrobe. The reason is that a little as 10-30% is actually sold and the rest of is often exported. Africa receives 70% of global second hand clothes.
There are many issues which exporting to Africa, I'd recommend looking at The OR Foundation (website) or their IG
“Now for the practical part on exploring different ways we can recycle our clothing other than donating to charity shops. The main ways are: Remaking / Reselling / Swapping / Recycling / Donating to others.”
“Summary: Remaking is a great option if you have the skills / time / determination but realistically may not be a very do-able option for a lot of people. If you’re interested in some ideas of how to upcycle your clothing head to my other blog posts on how to remake your unwanted tshirts”
“Summary: Reselling is a great option for high quality clothing especially if youre good at taking styled pics. Again, I think reselling can feel like a lot of effort and is less good for low quality / worn items”
“Summary: Clothes Swaps are a fab idea and definitely a great way to share your high quality pieces but again, they are less good for your low quality, worn out tees. They are easy to find online and can be really fun experiences to go along to.”
“Summary: Recycling bins seem to be the best option of old / worn out items of clothing and head www.letsrecycle.com to find your local textile bin. However, there is a lack of transparency of that happens to these garments/textiles. The concern is that items are still classes are ‘wearable’ will be exported. Scraps of fabric are more likely to be recycled”
“Summary: Donating to causes like Wrap up London who provide winter coats to the homeless is a great way to donate specific items to those who definitely are in need, however, for charities like the Salvation Army, there is a lack of transparency if the clothing will go to the homeless in the UK who need it or be exported as unsold items in their charity shops are”