In an ideal universe, our clothing would last a lifetime. In reality, this often doesn’t happen: we grow out of them, they get worn out, or perhaps we feel like they just don’t suit us anymore.
How can we dispose of old clothing in an environmentally friendly way, given that 70 percent of it ends up on landfills, many of which are in developing countries? A growing number of companies are offering return schemes to promise a second chance for your clothes. However, a study by the Changing Markets Foundation revealed that most of the items that were returned to them ended up being downcycled, destroyed or lost.
“[Take-back schemes] might give a temporary guilt relief to consumers, but in reality, these schemes are just a sticking plaster solution, perpetuating the ugly reality of fast fashion’s business model,” Nusa Urbancic, CEO of Changing Markets Foundation, tells Vogue.
Here are some of the top suggestions from experts on how to dispose of clothes that you no longer need.
Buy them back
Sell your second hand clothes on platforms like Vestiaire Collective or Depop. “The most responsible way to ‘dispose’ of unwanted clothes is to ensure they remain in circulation and continue being worn, assuming they’re in good enough shape,” Sol Escobar, founder of Give Your Best, says.
Organise a clothing exchange
You can also organise clothing exchanges with your friends. Just make sure they go to the right home. Find a local swap shop (Loanhood partnered recently with Selfridges to host a designer exchange shop in its London headquarters).
Spend money on charity
Even though clothing donations remain an important part of the income that charities receive, many charities are faced with a glut of low-quality clothes. “Most charities will say they only want to receive items in good condition so please do donate things that are still good to be worn by someone else,” Sarah Gray, lead analyst for textiles at WRAP, says.
” Give Your Best, an online platform, allows users to donate unwanted clothing to victims of domestic violence, refugees and trafficking. “[The clothes] can then be shopped online for free by women and children living in clothing poverty,” Escobar explains.
Purchase a Thrift+ Bag
If you’re clearing out a lot of items from your closet, it might be worth ordering a Thrift+ bag, which you can fill with your pre-loved items. It will then sell the clothing that is in good condition in exchange for points, which you can use on its site or with their partners, such as Farfetch, Browns, and others, or donate them to charity. Anything that they can’t sell on will be donated to charity or recycled responsibly.
Restore your Clothes
Repairing and fixing issues Before you begin, please read the following: you get rid of your clothes will also ensure that they don’t end up in landfill. “Making sure they are in good condition [will help] them to get another life in someone else’s wardrobe,” Gray concludes.