Recently, I wrote about where to donate clothes you no longer want to wear, including those that are worn out.
I listed the usual locations – Goodwill and the Salvation Army – and donating to retailers such as H&M. I also reported on what environmentalists have to say about the huge amount of clothing that ends up in landfills here and overseas.
Readers had additional suggestions on clothing donations:
Lisa Whitley, AFC, CRPC, financial coach offers the following ideas:
Thanks for sharing this. I am somewhat obsessed with recycling textiles (although I am not a big clothing shopper to be honest). A few more notes that I would add:
- Homeless shelters typically struggle with getting enough donations of men’s clothing. This is especially important as you consider seasonal donations of warm sweaters and jackets.
- Consider donating good condition used bras to Free The Girls, who help women who are victims of sex trafficking.
- In developing countries, many households (and especially female-headed households) rely on the resale of used clothing for income. (And before anyone mentions it, it really doesn’t discourage local manufacture in a meaningful way because the supply chain for inputs doesn’t exist. Good quality used clothing competes with Chinese imports, and is often preferred.) I don’t shame baled used clothing.
- There are companies such as ReTold that sell postage-paid bags that you can use to mail-in textiles (any kind – including underwear) for recycling. (I gave them as Xmas gifts!)
- Don’t forget animal shelters for towels.
In addition, a friend left this comment on Facebook: Eileen Fisher will buy back their clothes at $5/garment. They refurbish them and resell them. They also use recycled textiles to make new clothes.
So, keep looking for ways to get your used clothing to a place that will utilize them effectively and figuring out whether you need to cut down the amount of clothing you buy.
