Where Should I Donate My Old Clothes?

Jul 11

As a professional organizer, I am often asked where I recommend clients donate unwanted clothes. Do you know why this comes up so frequently? Because Americans on average only wear about 18% of the clothes they own. A 2022 study revealed that over half of people do not wear all of their clothes, not because they don’t like them or they no longer fit, but because they are buried under other clothes in their closet and they can’t see them!

Many clients express concern about dropping off clothes at standard donation sites for fear they will get tossed into the trash. Sadly, this is an accurate fear because according to the EPA, 85% of textiles thrown away in the U.S. are dumped into landfills or burned which means only about 15% get recycled. Globally it is just 12%.

Some fast facts from Earth.org:

92 million tons of textile waste is produced every year
The average US Consumer throws away 81.5 lbs. of clothes every year
6 million tons of returned clothes ended up in landfills in 2020 in the US alone

So why aren’t more clothes being recycled?

It turns out that today’s fashions are hard to recycle because they are comprised of multiple fabric components created using petroleum and other fossil fuels. I learned from a BBC article that the various synthetic fibers used in our clothing make it is difficult to separate these blends in order to recycle them properly. Wow. That’s bad.

According to CALPIRG, a network of CA-based citizen-funded Public Interest Research Groups, “there are numerous eco-friendly fibers that could replace plastic in clothes, but because there are no restrictions or laws, the fashion industry continues to actively participate in using plastic fibers in their clothes.”

How can we help reduce our environmental impact?

Green America suggests that we can help by buying recycled textiles from companies like Patagonia or other sustainable brands. You can also

Buy better quality clothing and less quantity
Shop second-hand clothing from local thrift shops
Rent clothes (Take a look at this Vogue article - Thinking About Fashion Rentals? Consider These 7 Services.)
Do a clothing swap with friends
Take a sewing class and learn to mend those small rips and tears
Turn old clothes into something new! (Check out this Good on You article listing 7 Ways to Repurpose Your Old Clothes.)

If you are no longer going to wear your current fashions, first try to donate to an organization like Dress for Success where they will get a second-chance at being worn. Then donate anything left to organizations that work extra-hard to try and ensure your clothing items don’t end up in a landfill. Here are a few I have found:

HELPSY – They are the largest textile collection company in the Northeast US with an environmental mission to keep clothes out of the trash. They have collection bins around the US (find one near you) where you can donate used clothing items. Helpsy says 95% of what they collect is reused, upcycled, or recycled. LOCALS! There are bins at Wilson Farm Park in Chesterbrook, the Westtown School in West Chester, Produce Junctions in Exton, Glenolden, Broomall and Mont Clare, Doylestown YMCA and more!

FOR DAYS – Their mission is to eliminate clothing waste in order to benefit people and the planet. Just request a Take Back Bag and fill it with your used (but clean) clothing items. The bag costs $20, but you get a $20 credit towards purchases of the 100% recycled fashions found their site. Pretty cool, huh?

RE-TOLD – Send your unwanted clothes and textiles (blankets, towels, sheets) to Re-Told and they will be diverted from landfills! Once sorted by the type and quality of garment, they will go to thrift stores, charities, upcyclers, or recycling companies. This is by far the costliest option at $94 a year for 6 fillable bags, but you do receive Re-Told Rewards which can be used on their partner sites. Of note, Re-Told was on Shark Tank and now has a deal with Mark Cubin!

Finally, here are two sites that allow you to give and get items, including clothing, for FREE: Trash Nothing & Freecycle