Where to responsibly recycle your old clothes

There are many options to responsibly move on your old clothes, shoes and even the completely worn-out stuff! Image via Harpers Bazaar — There are many options to responsibly move on your old clothes, shoes and even the completely worn-out stuff! *Image via Harpers Bazaar*

You’ve worn an item to death: it’s full of holes, the elastic has perished, no one else could wear it and you’ve got more cleaning rags than you know what to do with.

Maybe you want to re-sell items but just don’t have the time for the extra admin. Or you want to donate items somewhere other than your local op shop.

Where and how can you responsibly recycle both useable and worn-out textiles, so they don’t end up in landfill?

first thing’s first: reuse and rewear

Donating quality, clean clothing - not fast fashion, please! - and other items to op shops is great, especially if you are a regular op-shopper and you can see the store has a good turn-around. Bonus points if you can hand the items to a volunteer and ask what they might be in need of!

The sad truth is that op shops often need to send a large portion of the donations they receive to landfill simply due to volume and the poor quality (hello fast fashion…) of items received. And it’s these charities that foot the bill - not cool!

If you want to avoid burdening op shops with more stuff, and particularly if you’re looking for somewhere to responsibly recycle worn-out clothing, shoes, accessories and linen, here are some ways to avoid the wheelie bin.

Upparel

Upparel is my first pick when it comes to responsible textile recycling. They are doing something groundbreaking and so needed right here in Australia, as the country’s first direct-to-consumer digital textile recycling business. And not one piece of fabric is sent offshore OR to landfill; it is all processed in Australia. Hooray!

They accept clean clothing (no underwear though), shoes, bags, bed linen and towels (check out the full list here) and donate approximately 65% of what they receive to their charity partners to be reused and re-worn, and if it doesn’t sell then it comes straight back to them.

The remaining 35% of unwearable materials is shredded and used for things like pet bedding, office partitions and insulation, with some blended to create new fabrics.

Cost: $25 will get you one 10kg box, picked up from your door anywhere in Australia. Have more to donate? Check out their pricing here.

thrift+

One for our UK pals, Thrift+ aim to make it easier to re-sell pre-loved pieces by doing all the hard work for us. Order a bag, fill it up and send for free, then their team photograph and list your items for sale on their site and eBay. They also encourage every seller to donate a portion of their sales to their favourite charities.

h and m garment recycling — H&M and zara

Fast fashion giants are trying to make amends for their over-consumptive business models by offering free (convenient) garment recycling programs.

H&M and Zara

These fast fashion giants are paying their price for over-production, offering garment collection services in all their stores.

H&M offer collection also in & Other Stories, Weekday and Monki stores, making it a convenient way to recycle textiles “from all brands and in any condition”, including odd socks, underwear, stockings and bags.

Their recycling partner I:CO (I:Collect) then takes over, sorting into three categories:

· Rewear — clothing in good condition will be sold as preloved.

· Reuse — textiles will be down-cycled into other items like cleaning cloths.

· Recycle — anything left is turned into textile fibres and used for things like insulation.

Zara partnered with Red Cross in Australia to collect unwanted clothing. There’s not much more online about this program and personally I haven’t used it so not sure what they accept.

save your wardrobe app

Have you heard that the most sustainable wardrobe is the one you already own? Save Your Wardrobe app is here to help us get the most out of the clothes we already own, encouraging us to “buy less, buy better, be happier.”

Create your digital wardrobe by uploading receipts or taking snaps, then you’ll get personal outfit recommendations based on lifestyle, calendar and weather - how cool!

They’ve also curated a bunch of partners to help us repair, dry clean, donate and shop for preloved fashion (mostly for our UK friends again!).

What else do you do with your preloved garb? Do you use any of the services outlined here? Please share!

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