A large percentage of clothing and textile waste ends up in United States’ landfills. The Council for Textile Recycling, for example, reported that this is the case for roughly 85% of the 25 billion pounds of new textiles created every year. According to research, 12 million tons of textile waste and clothing are thrown out on an annual basis. This amounts to the average American wasting 82 pounds of textiles. Rather than literally throwing clothing and household textiles away, they can be donated to charitable organizations.

A Brief Overview of Textile Recycling and Donating

As previously stated, billions of pounds of clothing and textiles find their way into this country’s landfills. Given this, textiles, many of which are reusable, have a poor recycling rate. Some experts have reported that these items actually have one of the poorest recycling rates of reusable materials.

Just 15% of used clothing is either recycled or donated. The Council for Textile Recycling reported that charitable organizations, along with other types of secondhand stores, are usually the recipients of these items. Brand-new textiles may also have been donated to these organizations.

The Benefits of Donating Clothing

Charitable organizations use this clothing to help families and communities in need. When this clothing is sold at their stores, the revenue is used to help others as well as to fund operating costs. It’s important to note that two million tons of used clothing are recycled every year. While less than half of these items are worn again, the remainder is used for these practical purposes:

• Industrial rags: 30%
• Couch stuffing and home insulation: 20%

Many Americans shop at charitable clothing stores. Every year, the average person will purchase about ten pounds of used clothing. While some of these items may need a bit of repairing, many are in good-to excellent condition.

Donation Guidelines

Once you have gathered your clothing donations together in bags or boxes, the next step is to contact GreenDrop. You can either request a used clothing pick up or find out where you can conveniently drop off your items. If you’re interested in learning about additional donation guidelines or requests, such as children’s clothing, you can call to ask about this as well. When you make donations for non profit organizations, you are making a difference in your community. Not only are these items not ending up in the country’s landfills, they are being put to good use.