American Red Cross clothing donations are one of the best things you can do with those clothes that you or your family are no longer wearing. In fact, you can even arrange a Red Cross pickup in most areas, and someone will come to pick up your American Red Cross clothing donations. Here are some facts about our giving in America to inspire you:
Are We Giving and Why?
The answer is yes: but we could be doing more. About 70% of Americans do give to a charity every year, and a total of 3% of the national income of the United States goes to charities yearly. When asked about things like American Red Cross clothing donations, 63% of donors with a high personal net worth usually give as their chief motivation the desire to give back to their community. We give money, but we also donate clothes and other household textiles. Every year people in the United States are consuming a total of about 20 billion articles of clothing, or 68 garments and seven pairs of shoes each. That means, on average, every American buys a new piece of clothing each week. The EPA informs us that we are each then throwing away 10 pounds of our clothes each year. That’s a lot of clothes that could be going as American Red Cross clothing donations.
What Happens to Clothes Donations?
Some are worn directly by those in need, given to the homeless or those who have been displaced by a natural disaster. In January of 2015, the coldest month of the year, there were still well over 550,000 homeless people out each night in America. About 15% of the total homeless population is considered chronically homeless, meaning that they are unlikely to be off the street any time soon. Donations can go directly to people like this. Other used clothing donations are sold at prices that needy families can afford. The sale of these clothes not only benefits them but also provides income for the American Red Cross. That income goes to provide food, water, shelter, and blankets to people in need throughout the country, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The American National Red Cross is ranked 13th in size among charities in America supported by private donations.
Do Clothing Donations Help Anyone Outside America?
Yes, American textiles go around the world, and every year more than 14 million tons of donated clothes and other fabrics help the needy worldwide. Not only do our donations provide them with quality clothes at reasonable prices, but the work of sorting and processing the clothes also provides jobs for people in developing countries.
There are a lot of reasons to make your American Red Cross clothing donations. These are just a few of them. There are even more reasons: you can even take a tax deduction for the value of items you donate to charity. Whatever your reasons, there is a clothing donation center near you.
