How to recycle your unwanted clothes
Changing our attitude to recycling fashion
The average person in the UK discards approximately 14 kilograms of clothing annually, which adds up to around 350,000 tonnes of clothing ending up in landfills. And with fast fashion becoming more prolific and easier to get our hands on, these numbers are only increasing.
Fast fashion, a revolutionary movement within the fashion industry, promotes fast-paced trend changes, encouraging people to get rid of the previous years' clothing to buy the current year's fashionable styles.
However, it comes at a detrimental cost to the environment and human rights as it relies on the exploitation of resources and human labour for the production and delivery of these items.
Textiles and clothing are not biodegradable, meaning they sit on landfill sites for years, contributing to their carbon emissions and negative impact on the environment.
Changing our attitude to recycling fashion
Campaigners are calling for us to reduce the environmental impact of our clothing by changing the way we view fashion. The idea is that we adopt a circular approach to the consumption of clothes, so we consider wearing items for longer and then recycling them rather than throwing them out. As well as reducing our waste, experts claim that if we start recycling old clothes instead of throwing them away, we could generate a whopping £140 million!
Effect of fast fashion on the environment
Without even thinking about it, when we embrace fast fashion, we are directly impacting the environment in several ways.
Carbon Emissions
The fashion industry is responsible for approximately 10% of global carbon emissions - this is more than international aviation and shipping combined!
Why? Because the production of items and the distribution of them releases carbon emissions. Fast fashion has put the industry on steroids, with quick and expansive production lines, meaning more is being produced, bought and distributed across the world.
Water consumption and pollution
It takes about 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons to produce a pair of jeans, so it is no surprise that the fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater. Water is a finite resource, so this water consumption is significant.
Plus, textile dying, a popular process to create unique colours and patterns for clothing, contributes massively to water pollution, so not only is the industry using plenty of water, but they are also contaminating it.
Resource depletion
The constant demand for new clothing and textiles means there is a need to use new and primary resources. Combine this with the amount of clothing ending up in landfills, and we find that the industry utilises a large amount of raw and natural resources.
From the extraction of raw materials to manufacturing, distribution, and disposal, fast fashion accelerates the depletion of natural resources, contributing to severe ecological challenges.
Impact of re-wearing clothes
The fashion industry is one of the biggest industrial polluters in the world, contributing heavily to annual carbon and water footprint.
However, this could be changed by increasing the amount of times we use an item of clothing. If we increase wearing an item by just 3 months, it’s estimated that footprint could be reduced by 5-10%.
Indeed, it could go further if we went on to use a garment for 9 months extra, producing an increase to a 20-30% reduction – not only would we be helping save the planet but could also save a little money.
To support this, The Ellen MacArthur Foundation suggests that if we double the number of times we wear a specific garment, then greenhouse gases could be 44% lower.
How to recycle old clothes
Another staggering statistic is that the average UK household has over £1,000 of unused or unwanted clothing hanging in their wardrobes! And with fast fashion, this is likely to only increase.
So, what can you do with unwanted items to make sure they don’t end up in a landfill? This wasted textile could be donated to charity, either in-store or via the bag posted through your door, or, if the item is damaged, you could break out the old needle and thread to repair it or make it into a new, unique piece of clothing.
Don’t forget you can also take old textiles to a clothing recycling point and put them to much better use than simply taking up valuable space in your home.
At W&S Recycling we are committed to recycling all materials, including textiles and clothes. We accept all forms of clothing (yes, even your underwear!) and shoes at our clothing banks, which are placed at over 20 locations across Dorset and Oxford.
Don’t worry about sorting through your clothing either, our experts will do that for you. Clothes recycling is a simple but very effective way to do your bit for our planet.
To learn more about recycling your unwanted clothing or to find your nearest W&S clothing bank, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today on 01202 675564.
