Published by Vanessa Brunner under Reuse/Recycle

When it comes to recycling, textiles and fabric aren’t usually the first things to come to mind. For a lot of people, throwing clothes away hardly seems like trash. It’s the mentality that goes along with every kind of waste buildup: “What’s the harm of throwing away just one T shirt?” “I don’t have time to go to Goodwill today.” But as these mindsets have grown and spread, so has the buildup of textile waste. This week, we’re focusing on fabric waste, and how to reduce it.

Here are some quick facts:

-Textile Waste is classified into two categories: Pre Consumer and Post Consumer

Pre Consumer waste consists of by product materials from the textile and fiber industries. Annually, 750,000 tons of waste  is recycled into new raw materials for multiple industries (including furniture, automotive, and paper). The Council of Textile Recycling estimates that about 75% of this waste is recycled.

Post Consumer waste is any type of clothing or household item made of manufactured textiles. These items are thrown away for many reasons (wear and tear, out of style, etc). Sometimes these items are given to charity, but more often than not, they are simply thrown away.

-In a survey done by Goodwill, half of the people surveyed preferred having a door to door pickup for their donations. OVER half of the people surveyed said they would not go more than ten minutes out of their way to make a donation drop off.

Like most other forms of waste and trash, convenience is a huge factor.

-The Fiber Economics Bureau reported that the average American throws out about 68 pounds of textiles per year. The Council of Textile Recycling found that of this waste, approximately 10 pounds per person is recycled.

-48% of the Post Consumer textile waste that is recovered is recycled as secondhand clothing, mostly through charities. These charities either give away the clothing, or sell them at discounted prices. About 61% of the clothes recovered for second hand use are sent to foreign countries.

A lot of waste is generated as fabric travels from the loom to the store

-Approximately 500 million pounds of textiles collected are used by the collecting agencies, with the balance sold to textile recyclers (for example: used clothing dealers/exporters, wiping rag graders, and fiber recyclers)

-   Most used textiles maintain a high and steady resale price. According to the EPA, the revenue generated by sales is enough to cover processing costs.

Information gathered from:

The Council for Textile Recycling

Apparel Search