Do you know where your donated clothes are actually going? Read on to find out what happens to the clothes you donate.

Over the years I have probably donated thousands of shirts and pants. I’m not one to buy clothes just to be shopping. I keep my clothes for a long time before getting rid of them and most of them are gifts I receive for Christmas or my birthday. I usually take my unwanted clothing to the Goodwill store after I’ve had them for a while. After decluttering my bedroom this year and making a few clothing donations I started thinking, what actually happens to the clothes I donate?

Researching this subject was a real eye opener. According to Dr. Mercola, Americans are buying 5 times more clothing now than in the 1980’s. That’s a lot of clothes! Only 15% of the clothes we get rid of are actually getting donated or recycled. Most are just being tossed into the trash and ending up in the landfill. The average American throws away around 81 pounds of clothing a year, according to SMART.

85% of used clothes end up in a landfill.

SMART

What actually happens to the clothes I donate?

Goodwill employees sort through all the donated clothing items and if they are near perfect they will go on the sales floor. The clothing stays there for about four weeks. Items that have not sold will be sent to a “Buy the Pound” liquidation outlet, where items are sold by the pound or at a reduced per-piece price. The goal of the liquidation outlet is to keep as many items out of the landfill as possible.

Clothing that has not sold at the liquidation outlet is sent to Goodwill auctions. At these auctions you bid on an entire bin without knowing what is actually inside. This can be fun, or a little scary. You just never know what you are going to get! Remaining items are sent to textile recycling organizations.

Basically when you donate your clothes to a Goodwill site you just have no idea what’s going to happen to them. They might get re-sold or they might end up in the landfill anyway. There’s a fashion documentary called The True Cost that points out that the average American throws out 82 pounds of textile waste a year. This adds up to be about 11 million tons of textiles sitting in a landfill for 200 years because most of it isn’t biodegradable.

Textile recycling organizations determine which items are usable as clothing and which can be sold and processed back into fibers to make new products. For example, stuffed toys and pillow can become car seat stuffing and automobile insulation. Denim can be turned into home insulation. Soles of shoes can turn into paving material. (Read more here.)

Landfills are filling up fast. We want to keep as much stuff out of the landfill as possible, so what do we do with our unwanted clothes?

Consider donating to:

• Operation Prom: If you have prom dresses or formal evening wear to get rid of, consider donating them to Operation Prom. The accept evening wear for high school students who cannot afford it.
• Green Drop: Green Drop sells donated goods such as clothing, shoes and bedding and gives the proceeds to the National Federation of the Blind and other charities.
• Career Gear: Career Gear offers interview appropriate and business casual clothing to help men who cannot afford them as well as mentoring and life-skills.
• ThredUp: You can donate used clothes and accessories to ThredUp, which is an online thrift store, and they will give $5 to charity.
• Local Church: Consider taking your unwanted clothing items to your local church. Perhaps they will distribute them to the needy within your community.
• Local Women’s Shelters and Crisis Centers: Most women who flee abusive relationships do so with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Most shelters provide everything they need to get back on their feet, and they do it for free.

Recycle for Discounts

• The North Face: The Clothes Loop program at The North Face encourages people to drop off unwanted clothing and shoes at retail and outlet stores in any condition. You will be rewarded with $10 off your next purchase of $100 or more.
• Levi’s: You can return clean denim items of any brand to in-store collection bins to receive 20% off a single regularly priced item.
• H&M: I love that I can get my shirts at H&M for cheap and then turn around and recycle them. They accept any brand of clothing, too! Just drop off used clothing in any condition in in-store garment collection boxes and you will receive a discount card for 15% off your next in-store purchase.

Upcycle

Clothing can also be upcycled and used for other purposes. Old t-shirts can be ripped up and made into cleaning rags. Used sweaters can be turned into leg warmers or stuffed animals. Denim jeans can be made into purses. Sarah at Garden Full of Dreams has instructions on how to make rope bowls. These can be made with any fabric, such as ripped up t-shirts. They are so easy to make and look great in any room of the house.

The possibilities of upcycling clothes are endless. Pinterest has tons of ideas on how to reuse old clothing. The next time you clean out your closet stop and think, “What actually happens to the clothes I donate?”

Do you donate your clothes or throw them away?