What do I do with…?
Textiles
What is textile waste? Textiles is a huge industry that encompasses all fabrics, drapery, and wearable items (clothes and shoes) as well as things like carpets and upholstery. With the growing fast fashion and consumerism mentality, the amount of textile waste is increasing.
Why is textile waste a problem? “The textile industry is one of the world’s most polluting industries, responsible for toxic waterways, microplastic pollution and significant carbon output.”
~Susan Edwards, Guide to Sustainable Textiles
Examples: bamboo, cotton, hemp, leather and vegan leather, linen, lyocell, modal, nylon, polyester, silk and soysilk, wool, a variety of blends, and new and emerging textiles
Reduce
Buy fewer clothes and buy the best quality you can afford
Buy used clothes
Limit polyester and nylon clothing to specific athletic gear where the performance qualities of those materials are especially useful
Reuse
Buy upcycled clothing - Recreate Designs is a resource for adult & children’s clothing line, accessories, and home goods made from upcycled materials since 2005
Kind Apparel Outdoor clothing designed by and for women. Their lycra, and a lot of their fleece, is made from recycled plastic bottles - about 80% recycled content.
Clean and functioning clothing can be taken to thrift stores:
Consider having a rummage or yard sale for textiles you no longer use
Sell clothing through online stores like thredUP or Poshmark
Get together with friends and have a clothing swap
Some churches accept clothing donations which are then offered to the community
Repair
Take your textiles to seamstresses and tailors to get them professionally altered or repaired
Local Seamstresses, Tailors and Alteration/ Repair shops:
Perfect Alterations
Missoula Tailoring Services
And Sew Forth
Nip n’ Tuc
Customs Fashion Consulting
Shoe and Boot Repair shops:
Archer's Grizzly Boot and Shoe
Lloyd's Shoe Repair
Logan's Boot and Shoe
Recycle
H&M takes old and used clothing and donates them to foundations that are dedicated to creating new and innovative ways to recycle textiles
Call ahead to our local store to check their acceptance policy
Check out some other national recycle programs listed by zero waste blogger Lauren Singer
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The EPA estimates that the textile recycling industry recycles approximately 3.8 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste (PCTW) each year, this only accounts for approximately 15% of all PCTW, leaving 85% in our landfills. More than 15 million tons of used textile waste is generated each year in the United States, and the amount has doubled over the last 20 years. In 2014, over 16 million tons of textile waste was generated, according to the U.S. EPA. Of this amount, 2.62 million tons were recycled,3.14 million tons were combusted for energy recovery, and 10.46 million tons were sent to the landfill. An average American throws away approximately 80 pounds of used clothing per person. (Information Source).
Susan Edwards has researched the topic of textiles and lays out the layers of issues regarding different kinds of textiles in her e-book, Guide to Sustainable Textiles. She identifies what textiles might be better choices for you and why. The source and processing of the raw materials used to make textiles and the post-consumer issues all have different issues with regard to sustainability, toxins, ethics, economics, social justice, water and air pollution, microplastic pollution, harm to life forms, carbon footprint, soil degradation, loss of farmland, loss of forests, water use and more. A holistic and systems point of view is necessary to understand what the more sustainable choices are . For instance, cotton is a natural fiber and is biodegradable but it is responsible for 25% of the world’s pesticide use. There are multiple additional harmful aspects of cotton production unless it is a certified organic cotton. As consumers we can ask producers for transparency regarding their production process and we can make a difference by what we purchase.