The Urgency to Recycle Textiles

The importance of recycling textiles is increasingly being recognized. Over 80

billion garments are produced annually, worldwide. In 2010, about 5% of the
U.S. municipal waste stream was textile scrap, totaling 13.1 million tons. The
recovery rate for textiles is still only 15%. As such, textile recycling is a
significant challenge to be addressed as we strive to move closer to a zero
landfill society.

Once in landfills, natural fibers can take hundreds of years to decompose. They
may release methane and CO2 gas into the atmosphere. Additionally, synthetic
textiles are designed not to decompose.

In the landfill, they may release toxic substances into groundwater and
surrounding soil.

Textile recycling offers the following environmental benefits:

 Decreases landfill space requirements, bearing in mind that synthetic

fiber products do not decompose and that natural fibers may release
greenhouse gasses

 Avoided use of virgin fibers

 Reduced consumption of energy and water
 Pollution avoidance
 Lessened demand for dyes

The rise in the production and

consumption of fast fashion
Fast, cheap fashion has changed the way we dress; it
has also changed the way we think about clothes and
what we do with them. We buy more clothes than
ever before, we wear them fewer times - sometimes
they are not worn at all - and while our wardrobes are
cluttered with rarely used clothes, we are also treating
clothes as disposable items. Fashion has become a
novelty and the commercialisation and marketing of
fashion is leading to overconsumption and materialism
- keeping our clothes and cherishing them is not in
fashion any more.

) It takes 700 gallons of water to make a cotton shirt. It takes a lot of water to

produce the cotton needed to make clothes. To put these numbers in perspective, the

amount of water needed to make a t-shirt is enough for one person to stay hydrated for
900 days while the amount of water needed to make a pair of jeans is equivalent to hosing
down your lawn for 9 hours straight .
2) The average American throws out about 82 pounds of textile waste
per year. That’s 11 million tons of waste produced every year by just the United States

alone. While it may seem harmless to throw out tattered clothes, these fabrics are likely to

then end up in landfills, where they pile up to produce toxic greenhouse gasses that are

emitted into the atmosphere. As a leading cause of global warming, these gases are very

dangerous for our environment and hazardous for our health.

3) Clothes can take up to 40 years to decompose. Once we throw out our

clothes, we accept the fact that we’ll never see them again. However, just because our

discarded clothes are no longer in our lives, it doesn’t mean they’ve d isappeared. While

some materials take longer to decompose than others, all have harmful effects for the

environment. In addition to releasing gases like methane, most fabrics are made with dyes
and chemicals that can contaminate the soil and water in the ground.
4) Shoes can take up to 1,000 years to break down. Thought clothes took a

long time to decompose? Shoes take even longer! Commonly made with a material called

ethylene vinyl, the midsoles of shoes can take a really long time to break down. Rather than

adding more waste to landfills, try donating or selling your shoes!

5) 95% of textiles can be recycled. Every year, we continue to throw away our old

textiles, even though almost all of them can be recycled! This means that there is an

alternative to landfill waste. In 2013, the US Environmental Protection Agency estimated that

2.3 million tons of textiles were recycled, thus avoiding disposal. They claimed the

environmental impact of this number was the same as taking 1.2 million cars off the
road. Whether you choose to donate your old things to charity, or up-cycle them into
something new for yourself, imagine the environmental difference we could make if everyone

made the choice to recycle their clothes!

6) Textiles can be repurposed into a number of things, including sports

fields, pillow stuffing, and paper money. When you recycle your clothing, it’s

possible they might go straight to a new owner without any alteration. It’s also possible,

however, that they might be repurposed into a plethora of everyday items. Whether the
 textile fibers are turned into carpet padding, baseball filling or jewelry box lining, you never

know where your recycled clothes might end up!

7) When you donate clothing to charities, it’s not uncommon for the
clothing to be sold overseas. Fortunately, a lot of people donate clothes every day.
However, it’s a common misconception that all of these donated clothes are distributed

domestically. The reality is there are just too many unwanted clothes for that! That’s

why many clothing collection organizations , Planet Aid included, sell clothing abroad.
And at Planet Aid, we use the proceeds to fund sustainable development programs
all over the world!
8) 70% of the world wears secondhand clothing. So next time you want to go
shopping, try checking out a secondhand thrift store! Not only does this help contribute to a

more circular textile industry, but it also saves you money. Also, next time you donate your

clothes, feel good about the fact that your old clothes are likely to end up making someone

else very happy!

Waste

 It takes more than 5,000 gallons of water to manufacture just a T-shirt and a
pair of jeans. 3
 Textile industry is one of the top 3 water wasting industry in China,
discharging over 2.5 billion tons of wastewater every year.2
 NPR reports, from the Environmental Protection Agency, that 15.1 million tons
of textile waste was generated in 2013, of which 12.8 million tons were
discarded.
 About 15% of fabric intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor.
This waste rate has been tolerated
industry-wide for decades.4
 According to Christina Dean, Redress, waste generated in China is not
known, with estimates that China will soon make 50% of the world’s clothing –
the indications for textile waste there are mind-blowing. Daily in Hong Kong,
there are 253 tons of textiles sent to landfill.

Recycle

 Consumers throw away shoes and clothing [versus recycle], an average of 70

pounds per person, annually. 5
 A few communities have textile recycling programs, about 85% of this waste
goes to landfills where it occupies about 5% of landfill space and the amount
is growing. 5
 Up to 95% of the textiles that are land filled each year could be recycled. 7
 Landfill space is expensive and hard to find. 5
 Using recycled cotton saves 20,000 liters of water per kilogram of cotton, a
water-intensive crop.8

Used Clothing

 The U. S. is the largest exporter of second hand clothing. It exports over a

billion pounds of used clothing every year.6
 Over 70% of the world’s population use second hand clothes.7
 Consumers in the United Kingdom have an estimated $46.7 billion worth of
unworn clothes in their closets.

(edgexpo.com)