Eco Fashion World

“Individuals contribute unwanted garments to second-hand, re-use and recycle schemes, including for recovery or upcycling of fabrics and fibers”. – from the NICE Consumer Framework for Achieving Sustainable Fashion Consumption Through Collaboration

When you’re done with your clothing, what do you do with it? If you live in the U.S., you may be part of the 85% of the population that throws it in the trash bin. Americans are not unique. Having a deliberate strategy for disposing of unwanted clothes can take a bit of effort, but once established can become as routine as taking out the trash.

The NICE Consumer project assessed the current state of recycle and upcycle options for the consumer. They found that there was a significant lack of convenient and reputable drop-off centers. Moreover, less than half of those items were actually re-used.  Much of it is either destroyed (burned in a third-world country) or ends up in the landfills. All this means is that more research is required on the part of the consumer to find a disposal process that achieves the goal of actually recycling or re-using.

Some forward-thinking retailers, like Patagonia, Eileen Fisher, Uniqlo, and Marks and Spencer to name a few, have take-back programs that allow their customers to return brand items to a store location, sometimes for credit on new merchandise.  You can also organize a clothing swap among your friends. These can be incredibly fun social events as well as an opportunity to pickup that sweater you’ve been coveting in your girlfriend’s closet. I know of a stylish circle of women that organizes such an event once a year. The women shop while the guys play poker or watch a sporting event, and often there is a bit of crossover.

Despite the controversy surrounding ‘where the clothing actually ends up’, donating your used clothing to Oxfam, Value Village, or Goodwill is still better than putting those items directly into the waste system.

Consigning your old clothes in good condition is a gratifying way to generate capital for your next shopping excursion.

Upcycling and re-purposing your clothing is a bit trickier but can also generate a unique new piece. Many of you may remember those darling shoulder bags from the early 70’s made entirely from an old pair of jeans.  Upcycling is your excuse to get creative and give an old garment an even better life than the one it had previously.

Until there is curbside apparel recycling like there is for plastic, cans and paper products, it’s going to take a bit of effort on the part of the consumer to do something other than consign a garment to the landfill. Take these tips and a million others available at your fingertips on the web – use your old things to make something new, swap garments with friends, take your garments to a resale shop, donate them to someone who needs them, or to an organization who will get the items to someone who needs them.  There are a world of options to make the world a little bit better, one careful decision at a time.

From her home-base in northern California, Oceana travels the world to be in the sustainable fashion conversation. She considered it a great privilege to attend the 2012 Copenhagen Fashion Summit for the unveiling of the UN Global Compact Code of Conduct for ethics and sustainability in the fashion industry. You can follow her on her blog at Oceana's Canvas, on Twitter at  OceanasCanvas, Facebook at Oceana's Canvas - Ethical Style. 

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