Although the textile industry is massive today in the United States and abroad, it has been determined that charity, while strong, does not always keep pace with rates of clothes being thrown away, so people today are urged to explore options of charity and used clothes donations to a Red Cross donation center instead of filling the landfills with more clothes that no one will end up wearing. Any person can donate old clothing to American Red Cross donations centers, and given the high rates of producing and purchasing clothes today, nearly any household is bound to have excess clothes, from hats and gloves to shirts, shoes, and dresses, that can be given to a local Red Cross pickup for families in need to make use of. How often to Americans give to charity today, and how can these rates be increased? What are some of the added benefits of choosing to donate old clothing to a red Cross donation center?
Rates of Charity and Waste
The United States produces a massive amount of clothes each year, and Americans buy more clothes now than ever, but only some of these garments end up being sent to a donations center while the rest are simply thrown away when they become old and out of fashion. Some 20 billion garments are consumed every year, which is a lot of clothes when added all up, so it is essential that one chooses to donate old clothing instead of sending it to a landfill, or giving it up for industrial rags or to be shredded to make into furniture stuffing. Not only will charity help families in need and reduce the size of someone’s massive wardrobe, but has other benefits, too. Donating to a select charity is, in fact, tax deductible, which can be a boon for those who donate a lot, and among higher income donors, some 63% of them saying that they are “giving back to the community.” And with over 70% of Americans giving to charity every year, it is clear that the charitable spirit already exists. The goal now is to make better use of it and increase it so that the choice to donate old clothing becomes even more commonplace.
Donating
Given how Americans buy more clothes now than ever, many, if not all, households are bound to have more clothes than they actually need, and many Americans may not realize just what an excess in inventory they actually have. When someone decide to give to a charity, they can start a simple, cost-free (aside from gas money) process to give old clothes to those in need, and lighten their own wardrobe in the process.
For any household that decides to donate old clothing, the first step is to gather all clothes from across the home and gather them into one huge pile on the floor, which acts as a comprehensive inventory of the wardrobe. After all, with clothes scattered across the home, it can become difficult to see how much is actually owned. A homeowner may be surprised to find how big this pile becomes, and what ratio of it is made up of clothes that the person does not even want to keep.
Now that a total inventory is available, everyone in the household can start carefully picking through this pile to find clothes that they do not actually want to keep, from old shirts and jeans to dresses, shoes, gloves, hats, and coats. Often, if a piece of clothing is worn out, out of style, the wrong size, or simply not interesting anymore (clothes should make the wearer happy), then the clothing item should be prepared for donations. This will continue for the entire huge pile until everyone has determined what they keep and what they will not, and in bigger cases, the family members may end up keeping a minority of all the items, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Kept clothes can be put back away into the home’s closets and drawers, while the clothes to be donated will be packed into boxes or bags for transport. The person can look up “donate old clothing places” into an Internet search to find local pickup spots, and drive the old clothes to that site and give them over to volunteers.
