With changing seasons and styles, you may be digging through dressers only to find clothing that has not been worn in months. If you decide to create more space in your closet, what happens to your unwanted clothing? Even though items may seem outdated or worn, they have a much longer life than one might think. In most cases, clothing items can be reused in multiple capacities, so hold off on sending them out with the trash.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), roughly 8.9 million tons of clothing and footwear are sent to landfills with clothing being one of the world’s fastest growing waste streams. Not only can clothing become a material waste issue, but the production of textiles is a heavy contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, equating to roughly 1.2 billion tons of carbon per year. The average car could drive for over 260 million years to match the annual carbon footprint of the fashion industry.

Global textile production is also one of the largest consumers of water, both in the growth and processing of clothing materials. According to media reports, it takes roughly 2,000 gallons of water to create only one pair of jeans. This figure is over six times the amount of water that the average family uses per day. Water is also needed to dye clothing, which can often be discarded into waterways, polluting habitats.

For ideas on how to reduce textile waste, please consider the following actions:

• Rethink fashion. Fast fashion is the production of clothing in high quantities with low quality materials to meet the latest trend. When purchasing new clothing, choose timeless pieces that will have a longer lifespan.
• Recycle apparel. Donate unwanted clothing to a local charity. Not only is donating our clothing an action that reduces our impact on landfills, but it also provides resources to communities in need.
• Reuse clothing. Consider purchasing some or all of your clothes from secondhand stores. Not only will you support the clothing reuse cycle, but your fashion will always be unique and you save money.
• Repurpose items. If you do not want to part with your old t-shirt, consider repurposing it for a different use. Old textiles are great for use as household cleaning rags. Clothing can also be disassembled and turned into other items like headbands, napkins and scarves. Search some DIY projects and get creative!

  If you are interested in donating your clothing, there are several organizations that have local drop-off sites, including Goodwill and The Salvation Army. There are also organizations — like Simple Recycling and the Military Order of the Purple Heart — that pick up donations from your home. Research your local donation organizations and help decrease your clothing waste impact.  

–Marissa Ratzenberger is a sustainability coordinator for the Detroit Zoological Society