How to Recycle Clothes

• Benefits of recycling clothing
• How to recycle old clothes
• How to recycle damaged clothes
• How to recycle shoes

There are many ways to breathe new life into old clothes rather than sending them to landfill. Pass them on to someone else, donate to charity, rent or sell them, or simply do them up and create a new item of clothing.

If your old clothes are still in a wearable condition, some ideas for recycling old clothing include to:

• Donate to charity shops – businesses and households can donate any old clothes in a good, clean, and wearable condition to most charity shops. Bag them up and drop them off at your local one or see if they offer collection. They may not accept company-branded clothing or school uniforms (though check your local school uniform shop – as some sell second-hand uniforms).
• Sell your old clothes – make a bit of money and avoid adding to landfill by selling old clothes at a car boot sale or a pop-up market. There are loads of places to sell clothes online too, such as eBay, Depop, and Hardly Ever Worn It – just remember to factor in shipping costs.
• Pass on to others – handing down old children’s clothes has been a long-standing tradition that saves money and the environment. Consider passing on adult clothes too, such as maternity clothing or others you’ve grown out of, if they fit a friend that fancies them.
• Upcycle and transform – bored of an outfit? Rather than getting rid of it, think of ways to transform or upcycle it. Maybe cutting off the sleeves, adding rips to jeans, or some embroidery to freshen it up.

Many charity shops can’t sell ripped, worn out, or damaged clothes so they may not accept your donations. It’s also unlikely anyone will want to buy, rent, or accept a hand-me-down if it’s in a poor condition. However, there are ways of recycling damaged clothing rather than throwing it away.

Recycling worn out clothing avoids it going to landfill and helps breathe a new lease of life into the materials. There are a few ways to recycle old clothes that can’t be donated:

• Upcycle damaged clothing – holes in clothing are easily repairable or you could cover them with a patch. For more seriously damaged clothing consider cutting out any usable bits of fabric and turning it into face masks, cleaning cloths, blankets, or padding for cushions.

Recycling shoes may sound trickier than other clothes as they’re often made from different materials. However, if your shoes are in a decent condition then donating them to a charity shop should still be your first choice. Some charities send them to those in need in other countries.

You can also recycle damaged shoes in similar ways to clothes. Put them in a shoe bank or shoe recycling bin (found in many household recycling centres and supermarkets). In some cases, you can use textile recycling bins for old shoes too – they’ll go to an MRF where the leather, foam, plastic, rubber, and fabric materials are separated and recycled individually.

Some footwear shops and brands run their own take-back schemes that accept shoes from any make and condition. These are then put to good use, donated, or recycled. Upcycling is another option if they’re not too badly damaged. Give them a thorough clean, thread in a new pair of laces, or dye canvas trainers a fresh colour for a new look.

Recycling old work uniforms – even those in great condition – requires a different approach to other clothes. Your business may need to get rid of old uniforms if you have new workwear ordered, they’re worn out, or there’s a printing error on them. However, some charity shops don’t accept old clothes with company logos/branding.

There are charities that take old work uniforms and donate to people in need abroad though. And some services can remove company emblems, logos, and text so that the clothes themselves can be donated and reused. Otherwise, businesses can arrange collection of old uniforms for textile recycling.

Many of us know how to recycle clothes in the UK and there’s plenty of evidence suggesting lots of households and businesses already do. However, there’s still work to be done to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of clothing heading to landfill, as these clothing recycling facts show:

• In the UK we send 700,000 tonnes of clothingto recycling centres, textile banks, clothes collections, and charities every year.
• Of this amount more than 100,000 tonnes of clothing are resold or donated to charity shops.
• However, more than 30% of unwanted clothes still go to landfill in the UK.