Ways to avoid your old clothes ending up in landfill
I’ve thrown very few clothes away in my lifetime as I can usually find a way to reuse, recycle or pass on my garments.
When we throw our old clothes in the bin, they usually end up in landfills and are left to decompose. Fast fashion has meant that we consume far too much clothing. It’s cheap with a constant turnover of new styles, and seductive advertising tempts us into buying more than we need.
But there are plenty of ways that you can make sure your old clothes find a new lease of life.
1. Drop off at clothing or textile banks. We have one in our village which is very handy, but you can often find them at supermarkets.
2. Donate to a charity shop. However, recently many of my friends who have tried to drop off clothes have been told the charity cannot accept any more donations. My suggestion would be that the charities price the items more competitively so there is a quicker turn around.
3. Take your clothes to a swish or clothes swap. But try and be discerning about what you come home with!
4. If you have a lot of items to get rid of and you can bear to get up at the crack of dawn, maybe a car boot sale could help you clear the decks. You’ll need to be prepared to sell for ‘pennies’ and it can be a soul-destroying experience if you don’t sell much and end up bringing loads back home with you.
5. Sell online with Depop, Vinted or Ebay. It can be time consuming and a bit of a hassle packing things up and taking them to drop off points. So it’s not for everyone.
6. Many of us are simply too busy to be trying to sell ourselves and want an easy solution. If you have good quality clothes in excellent condition a local dress agency can sell them on your behalf. I source some of the Trash Chic collection this way, but I am very specific about what I’m looking for. Get in touch with the agency first and send a few photos. We all have our own style and know what our customers are looking for.
7. Upcycle. If you are lucky enough to have pure cotton or linen garments, you can cut these up into squares for patchwork or rework the fabric into a smaller item, tote bag or cushion cover. If you’re not handy with a needle and thread, how about using a worn-out t-shirt as a cleaning rag – no skill needed in cutting this up.
8. If you don’t have the time to recreate something from that old dress, someone else may be very grateful for the fabric. Facebook Marketplace is great for advertising locally free items for collection.
9. If it’s a garment that you love, get it repaired or altered. There are a growing number of seamstresses and repair cafes emerging. Often dry cleaners can help with this.
I plan to run some upcycling workshops in the autumn. If you'd like to find out more about these email shop@trashchic.co.uk