If you have a young child you know that children grow incredibly quickly. The new pair of shoes or jeans that you may have just bought can easily become outsized in a matter of weeks. So what is the parent to do with all these outgrown clothes? Some just store the clothes away in attics or basements, waiting for other opportunities to get use out of them, but eventually that can take up a significant amount of space. Others may just opt to just toss out the clothing, rationalizing that it cant hurt, but unfortunately unwanted clothing and textiles account for about 5% of all landfill waste. There are other options that will not only save you money, but also help your local and global community. Instead of trashing your clothes, consider recycling and helping families in need.
Try Recycling Your Old and Unwanted Clothes
Just because an article of clothing may be too small for your child it does not mean it has lost its utility. There are several ways to recycle your children’s clothes. Many pieces of clothing can be given second life with a little bit of needle and thread. For example, old trousers can be docked to create shorts. Old t-shirts can be turned into cleaning cloths. Old Jeans can be used to make aprons or pot holders. You are only limited by your imagination in terms of projects that you can come up with for your old garments.
Donate Used Clothing to Charities That will Pick Up Donations
A sad statistic is that every year Americans discard 68 pounds of unwanted clothes per household. Of these discarded clothes at least 90% are still able to be used. This is especially startling considering that all across the country there are several children in need clothing. Clothing donations not only help families in need, but donating clothes you will actually break the cycle of waste. Donating your gently used clothes does not even need to be a huge time commitment there are several charities that will pick up donations at no cost to you.
With this new school year approaching, think of those that are less fortunate. Instead of throwing out your old clothes, give them a new life and a chance to make a family in need happy. References.
