Textile Recycling
A few weeks ago, we wrote a blog about “How to Donate Responsibility” which made me think twice about what to do with my donation pile of clothing sitting on the floor in my bedroom. After a little bit of Googling, I came across some really cool organizations, and wanted to share them with you. They provide textile recycling options nationwide and make donating super easy.
First things first. What exactly does textile recycling mean anyway?
There are two ways to recycle our clothes - chemically and mechanically.
Chemical - involves liquefying the textile, extracting a new fibre and spinning into a yarn. This technology is complicated, especially when so many of our clothes are made from blended fabrics like cotton/polyester. This is the method used to turn old clothes into new clothes and is what is referred to as Circular fashion. But currently less than 5% of “recycled” clothes are made this way, however many academics, engineers and brands are investing time and money into scaling this method.
Mechanical - means processing textiles through a shredding machine and then using that shredded material to make products that are not clothing such as insulation, furniture padding, car panel linings, carpet under padding and acoustic panels.
Now that you understand the process a little better, click below to find an easy way to get rid of your old textiles.
Earth911 is an awesome site and I love what they are all about. They have a search engine where you can type in anything you want to recycle along with your zip code, and a list appears right before your eyes. They also have fun blogs, recipes and ways to repurpose wine bottles! (I seem to have plenty of those lying around.)
ATRS believes recycling textiles should be easy, so they’ve placed thousands of donation bins in neighborhoods across the US. You can call their 24-Hour Hotline 866-900-9308 to find a donation bin near you.
TERRACYCLE is a social enterprise that can recycle literally anything! They have offices world-wide and are changing the way we recycle. Take a couple of minutes and check out their site. I have a feeling your mind will be blown!
Hope these links help you, and if you come across other fun links, feel free to share them with us! Happy donating!
*source: www.fashiontakesaction.com
