Clothes

Every year more than 15 million tons of cloth, fabric, and textiles are wasted, which is a big burden on the Earth’s resources as well as the grounds on which they are dumped. That said, most of us have plenty of clothes in the closest, some that we use to their full extent and others that we don’t. Inevitably some of these clothes will end up being discarded, but the way in which they’re discarded can have an impact.

The reduce-reuse-recycle philosophy of my youth evoked images of bottles, cans, and paper. My friends and I lamented the poor animals with necks caught in plastic rings from six-packs of cans. To this day, I diligently seek out recycling bins everywhere I go, from restaurants to house parties.

But what to do with my old clothes?