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Self-taught Asheville fashion designer creates sustainable clothing (RESEARCHED BY: Maryieka Estoesta) 

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SOURCE: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2021/05/17/repurposing-sustainable-clothing
TITLE: Self-taught Asheville fashion designer creates sustainable clothing
AUTHOR:  Christy Bollinger
DATE PUBLISHED: May 16, 2021
KEY INFO: A self-taught fashion designer in Asheville is trying to create a more sustainable future by only using secondhand garments for her designs.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. - A self-taught fashion designer in Asheville is trying to create a more sustainable future by only using secondhand garments for her designs.

What You Need To Know

Leanna Echeverri began designing clothes at a young age

Echeverri is a self-taught designer

Echeverri creates sustainable and artistic apparel from salvaged clothing and textiles

It takes more than 700 gallons of water to produce a new cotton T-shirt

The EPA estimates the average American throws away 80 pounds of clothing each year. The agency estimates nearly 17 million tons of textile waste was generated in 2017. Only about 15% was recycled, meaning more than 11 million tons of textile waste ended up in the trash.

This is all part of the reason Leanna Echeverri reuses clothes from thrift stores like Goodwill.

Echeverri is a notable fashion designer in Asheville, having created collections for Asheville Fashion Week, Festival in the Park and Color Me Goodwill. Color Me Goodwill is an annual upcycled fashion show featuring local designers and collections produced from Goodwill items, using people who have participated in a Goodwill community program as models. Echeverri won the fashion show's first prize in 2018 and 2019.

Echeverri was born and raised in Miami, Florida. In 2000, she founded "Grateful Threads" out of her home, creating sustainable, original clothing out of eco-friendly and recycled materials. She said Miami didn't respond well to it, so she moved to Asheville seven years ago.

She's used pillow cases, sheets, doilies and pretty much anything she can find to repurpose into clothes. Echeverri said she prefers more natural fabrics, like cotton or linen.

But before her career in fashion, Echeverri had a background in interior design and was working for an architect.

"I wasn't being creative, and...I felt like that was just killing my spirit," Echeverri said.

So she quit and made her hobby of repurposing clothes, known as "upcycling", into her livelihood.

"I started making sustainable clothing out of hemp. It was my business, and I kind of gravitated into upcycled stuff," Echeverri said. "I realized that the sourcing for it was endless."

Not only that, Echeverri said it was more economical and she could be more creative with her work.

"I wasn't just reproducing a garment to sell," Echeverri said. "I was making a one-of-a-kind garment that was for one person."

Secondhand shopping was generational in her family. Her grandmother used to do it, as well as her mother.

"My grandmother was depression era and she raised three girls on her own later," Echeverri said. "My mother was a single mom, so it was just the two of us and so there wasn't a lot of money."

She recalled going with her mom to thrift stores and hating it. As a child, she wanted new clothing and what all the other kids were wearing. But as she got older, she started modifying her own clothing.

When Echeverri moved to Asheville, she partnered with Goodwill almost immediately. The organization shared a mission similar to hers.

"I don't want to contribute to all of the derogatory factors that go into manufacturing clothing," Echeverri said.

According to the World Resources Institute, it takes more than 700 gallons of water to produce a new cotton T-shirt. Additionally, textile production uses significant amounts of chemicals, energy and other natural resources.

"This stuff makes up the mass majority of what ends up in landfills," Echeverri said. "And so, if everyone can do a little bit."

Goodwill says its shoppers, like Echeverri, help divert millions of pounds of goods from landfills each year.

"If you buy some used stuff, you know, you are contributing to the bigger picture," Echeverri said.

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Self-taught Asheville fashion designer creates sustainable clothing

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. - A self-taught fashion designer in Asheville is trying to create a more sustainable future by only using secondhand garments for her designs.

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H&M's initiative: Donate old clothes and get 15% discount voucher (RESEARCHED BY: Jianna Angelica Janea

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URL: https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/191287/hms-initiative-donate-old-clothes-and-get-15-discount-voucher/
TITLE: H&M's initiative: Donate old clothes and get 15% discount voucher
AUTHOR: Cheche V. Moral
DATE PUBLISHED: April 24, 2015
KEY INFO:  H&M initiated a global movement to lessen the fashion industry's negative impact on the environment by encouraging their beloved customers to donate old clothes in exchange for a 15% discount and turning their donated clothes into usable items.

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HERE'S how you can shop for more clothes without the guilt: At H&M you can donate your old clothes (any brand) and get a 15-percent discount voucher for your next purchase.

This is the global initiative of H&M to lessen the fashion industry's negative impact on the environment. Since its launch in the Philippines last December, H&M Philippines has already collected 2.3 tons of donated garments.

Fredrik Famm, H&M country manager for Southeast Asia, talked about it again as the brand launched H&M's 21-piece Conscious Exclusive collection last week, a once-a-year initiative that aims to prove that affordable fashion and sustainability can go hand in hand. The items are priced from P899 to P13,990.

The 2015 H&M Conscious Exclusive collection has been expanded, using not just organic and recycled fabrics, but also recycled beads and sequins, and is now available exclusively in the brand's flagship store at SM Mega Fashion Hall. (They carry a green hangtag.)
Contradictory?
While the sustainability efforts of a fashion brand with a massive reach like H&M have been lauded, still there are critics who say that the business model of fast-fashion is ultimately contradictory to the endeavors against waste and excess. H&M, for instance, manufactures an estimated 600 million products a year.

"Critics think that because we're selling clothes for a lower price point, we can't be sustainable. It's absolutely wrong," Famm said. "We are the leaders when it comes to sustainability in the fashion industry. We don't have factories of our own; our garments are produced in factories, which also produce other brands, sometimes brands that are clearly more expensive than we are. Instead, what you need to do is to look at what we're doing in terms of sustainability. What kind of initiatives do we have?"

H&M's garment-collecting initiative encourages customers to bring in old, used and even damaged clothes and garments, in exchange for store discount vouchers.

"We are closing the loop," Famm said. "We believe in creating a circular economy when it comes to producing and using new garments. Hand in used or unwanted garments and textiles and get a 15-percent discount voucher for your next purchase."

(Just fill a paper bag with old clothing-no minimum number of pieces, but donating more is encouraged-and bring to any H&M store. No matter how many bags of garments a customer brings, one can only get a maximum of two vouchers in a day. Typically, it's one bag equals one voucher.)

H&M works with a company called I:Collect or I:CO, which collects and recycles discarded clothing and other garments into usable items, like cleaning cloths, car seat fillers, among others. Famm said other usable clothing may also be sold as secondhand clothes. They've also started to make new yarns from donated garments.

For every kilogram of garment collected, I:CO donates 0.02 euros to United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) Philippines.
Good planning
Famm, who previously handled the Russian market for H&M, assumed his post only in January. He had lived in Asia, including the Philippines, for eight years while with another company.

Famm hinted at H&M's expansion plans in the Philippines, though he declined to discuss specifics.

Even as its opening last year was delayed by a couple of months, the Swedish fast-fashion giant has been unstoppable in its expansion, opening five stores in just two months, that made even major industry players' heads spin.

"We will definitely get to a place closer to every Filipino customer in the near future. It's still early to say how many stores we'll open this year or next year, but we're looking at a few locations in Manila and other cities, and the customer will be positively surprised at the pace of our rollout," said Famm.

Last year, there was talk that H&M's delayed opening was largely due to the Manila port congestion, though the company kept mum on the issue. Famm was similarly diplomatic when quizzed if the port situation is still affecting H&M's operations.

"We've had a positive experience in opening and running the business here," he said. "Obviously we have new garments in our stores every day, so we have arrivals on a daily, weekly basis... Maybe we've been lucky, but it has been very good."

He said H&M is quite happy with the reception of Filipinos to the brand. He said the Philippines has been "exceeding all our expectations. I get the feeling that Filipinos are very interested in fashion. They love to look good, and our competitive pricing when it comes to fashion quality and sustainability is very practical."

He added in jest, "We're pleased, not satisfied. In H&M, satisfied is a dangerous word."

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H&M's initiative: Donate old clothes and get 15% discount voucher

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HERE'S how you can shop for more clothes without the guilt: At H&M you can donate your old clothes (any brand) and get a 15-percent discount voucher for your next purchase. This is the global initiative of H&M to lessen the fashion industry's negative impact on the environment.

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Open Source Large & Small-scale Community Clothing Recycling, Reuse, & Repurposing Research and Tutorial (RESEARCHED BY: Maryieka Estoesta) 

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SOURCE: https://www.onecommunityglobal.org/best-small-and-large-scale-clothing-recycling-reuse-and-repurposing-options/
TITLE:

Best Small and Large-scale Clothing Recycling, Reuse, and Repurposing Community Options

AUTHOR: One Community
DATE PUBLISHED: unknown
KEY INFO: Clothing is a resource that is present almost in all human communities. When we’re done with clothing, it doesn’t need to go landfills though, it can be recycled, reused and/or repurposed.

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Clothing is a resource that is present almost in all human communities. When we're done with clothing, it doesn't need to go landfills though, it can be recycled, reused and/or repurposed. We discuss small and large-scale approaches to both processes here and with the following sections:

RELATED PAGES (Click icons for complete pages)

WHAT IS CLOTHING RECYCLING

Clothing recycling is part of textile recycling. It involves recovering old clothing and shoes for sorting and processing to eventually create clothing suitable for reuse, cloth scraps, rags, or other repurposed fibrous materials. To successfully recycle-textiles, the materials must be collected and sorted before being processed for reuse.

The complete clothing/textile recycling process can be summarized with the following steps:

1. Collected clothing items are sorted into synthetic plastics or cotton (or other biodegradable material) and sent to different destinations.

2. The biodegradable cloth is torn into fibers and combined with other fibers before being cleaned and spun.

3. For synthetic plastics, the zippers and buttons are removed before the clothing is cut into smaller pieces. The shredded fabrics are granulated and shaped into pellets.

Here's a summary of the process used by martexfiber:

Here is another illustration of the process:

WHY OPEN SOURCE CLOTHING RECYCLING

We are facing an unprecedented need for clothing recycling because of the global population increase and the rise of rapid consumption and fast fashion. These trends are causing more and more clothing items to be discarded. As an example, data from the United States EPA showed around 16 million tons of textile municipal solid waste was generated just in 2015. All of this waste ends up in landfills, where it can take many years to decompose and can release carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the atmosphere. Other synthetic textiles do not decompose at all, releasing harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater.

An open source solution for communities can assist in addressing this serious issue. Through more effective, environmentally-friendly solutions, we can reduce the amount of clothing that is going to waste and ending up in landfills. The more communities implement solutions, the more people can actively participate in recycling their clothing. People-driven solutions like this are globally applicable, cost-effective, and can be profitable too.

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE TO EVOLVING THIS SUSTAINABILITY COMPONENT WITH US

SUGGESTIONS ● CONSULTING ● MEMBERSHIP ● OTHER OPTIONS

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RESEARCHER(S) FOR THIS COMPONENT:

Angela Mao: Sustainability Researcher

SMALL AND LARGE-SCALE CLOTHING RECYCLING

There are many, many options for recycling your clothing. To begin with, we'll review existing options on both the individual and community level. Then, we will highlight strategies for starting your own textile recycling business in your local community. Strategies covered include clothing recycling strategies for large cities, suburban towns, rural areas, and more.

We discuss this with the following sections:

PURCHASING SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING

The first step in preventing large amounts of clothing from going to waste is to shop sustainably. There has been a rise in eco-friendly clothing that uses materials that are biodegradable or recycled. Materials like this reduce the volume of textiles going to landfills, textiles that can take a very long time to degrade.

There are websites that "grade" the sustainability of certain brands. They thoroughly research their sourcing, transparency, and business practices. Here are two reliable resources for your sustainable fashion research!

Good on You: They grade clothing companies based on their treatment of animals, the environment, and employees. They rank from "We Avoid" to "Great" and provide detailed information about each brand's practices.

Better World Shopper: They are dedicated to making social and environmental data available to consumers through a comprehensive database of over 2000 companies and utilizes 76 reliable sources of data so that the public can hold companies accountable.

There are also many lists of sustainable brands online. Here are some of the best ones we found.

Here is a sample of some of the many, many sustainable brands that use recycled fabrics.

Reformation: According to their website, they recycle, compost organic wastes, and recycle or donate their textile scraps whenever possible. They also have a comprehensive list of the sustainable fabrics they use, as up to 2/3 of the sustainability impact of fashion happens at the raw materials stage - before the clothes have been made.

Tradlands: This brand strives to use 98% of its materials and recycle any remnants to keep their waste to a minimum. They focus on producing quality clothing to reduce waste.

Patagonia: It specializes in men's and women's activewear / outdoor clothing. According to its website, 72% of their line uses recycled materials, all their cotton is grown organically, and 100% of their down is certified to the Global Traceable Down Standard. Overall, they are transparent about their fabrics: their website breaks down the fabrics they use (recycled cotton, recycled polyester, etc) and they are working to becoming entirely carbon neutral. They also have plenty of environmentally friendly programs in place, such as their Responsible Wool Standard, Regenerative Organic Certification, and Material Traceability.

Levi's: Best known for their jeans, Levi's designers have created over 20 alternative techniques for finishing denim, which traditionally uses unsustainable amounts of water. This process is called Water<Less® and it has saved more than 3 billion liters of water and recycled 5 billion more. Additionally, Levi's Tailor Shops extend the life of your jeans by patching up rips, mending hems, and replacing buttons whenever you need.

Eileen Fisher: This brand commits to using organic, recycled, and sustainable fibers such as hemp and Tencel. They support organic farming and are working towards increasing water efficiencies in their manufacturing process.

Madewell's: 60% of Madewell's spring clothing collection is currently sourced more sustainably or made with Do Well materials. Some of the sustainable materials they use are recycled cotton, BCI cotton, wood pulp (Tencel lyocell and Lenzing ecovero fibers)

Pact: Pact utilizes organic cotton, which uses up to 95% less water than conventional cotton during the wash phase and doesn't contain the harsh chemicals, bleaches, or dyes that conventional cotton uses. Additionally, conventional cotton often requires the use of chemical-laden pesticides that increases the debt burden on the farmer and leaches into the land and water.

Alternative Apparel: Their garments are crafted with sustainable materials & processes, including organic & recycled materials, low-impact dyes & water-conserving washes. They use organic cotton, post-consumer recycled polyester, low-impact dyes, and eco-friendly packaging.

Thought: This brand sources natural, sustainable yarns that use less water, fewer pesticides, and create less CO2. They also upcycle their leftover fabrics at the source to reduce waste and create new products. Materials are sourced from natural, organic, renewable, and recycled sources wherever possible.

ASOS's Responsible Edit: This is an online store who allows you to shop environmentally conscious clothing, accessories, and living items. The clothes in this collection include items made of recycled goods, where waste, plastic, and textiles have been recreated as new products. There are also sustainable fibers and fabrics, which use less water and create less waste along the way, making these buys better for the environment.

LARGE-SCALE CLOTHING RECYCLING

Large cities need to be able to provide a streamlined service for their many residents. Many big cities have the advantage of having large-scale recycling programs already in place, so adding a textile recycling portion is much easier. They also usually have access more to funding and labor. We'll look at several examples of recycling programs in cities that are pretty effective already.

EXAMPLES OF BIG-CITY CLOTHING RECYCLING PROGRAMS

To illustrate how clothing recycling works in large cities, here are 3 big clothing recycling programs from New York City.

RefashionNYC: This organization collaborates with the NYC Department of Sanitation and is NYC's official clothing reuse program. It offers a convenient in-building service to make textile donations more convenient. To receive this service, an application must be filled out online and only certain buildings are eligible, such as apartment buildings with over ten units, office buildings, commercial businesses (such as the fashion industry, storage facilities, gyms, laundromats, and hotels), and schools and institutions. The Department of Sanitation NY will then pay a visit to your building to discuss how many bins you need, what size bins, and where they should be placed. Clothing and accessories donated through refashionNYC are sorted out at the Housing Works warehouse in Queens.

Pickup Please: Vietnam Veterans of America partnered with the United Postal Service (UPS) to bring New Yorkers a free and easy way to donate their used clothing, shoes, and accessories. All residents have to do is gather their unwanted clothes, shoes, and accessories, box it up, fill out an online form, and receive free pre-paid shipping labels. They can then take it to any UPS store or UPS pick-up location.

growNYC: Residents can drop off old clothing and textiles at greenmarkets throughout the city. growNYC collects these textiles and then takes them to a facility where they are sorted into different grades. Materials that are suitable for reuse are distributed to second-hand stores and materials that are not reusable are sent to recycling markets where they get repurposed as wiping rags or shredded for low-grade fiber products.

SUCCESSFUL TEXTILE RECYCLING PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Another successful textile recycling program used in US towns and cities is Simple Recycling. Some of the Cities That Currently Partake in Simple Recycling are Stamford, Somerville, Medford, Cincinnati, and Durham. Read on to learn how it works.

Residents are provided with pink bags that they can fill with unwanted clothing, drapes, bedspreads, blankets, and other textiles. Shoes, sneakers, belts, handbags, and similar items are also accepted. Simply Recycling then collects them for free. When a bag is picked up, residents receive a replacement bag in exchange.

To maximize efficiency, the operation depends on electronic tablets equipped with GPS that Simple Recycling installed in eight city recycling trucks. When city drivers are out collecting recyclables from the green bins, they tap a button on the tablet each time they spot a pink bag. This sends GPS coordinates for that address to Simple Recycling. Drivers for Simple Recycling then pick up the bags at the identified addresses.

The pink bags are delivered to a facility Simple Recycling operates, where they are weighed and then trucked out to be sorted and sold to thrift stores for resale or companies that make rags or convert textiles into insulation, carpet padding, and other products. As part of the contract, Simple Recycling will pay the city one cent for each pound of material collected. As an indicator of the program's success, the city of Cincinnati estimates this program is diverting at least 1,000 tons of material from landfills each year, which also results in an estimated $70,000 of revenue per year for the cit.

RECYCLING YOUR OWN CLOTHING

If your city doesn't offer a general recycling plan, consider these small-scale options that any individual can use. These independent solutions can be effective for someone living in most any suburban or rural area.

SMALL-SCALE OPTIONS

1. One obvious idea is to donate your old clothing to thrift stores and charity shops. Only about 20 percent of the clothing donated to places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army even gets sold. The rest is sold to textile recyclers. The companies get money for the clothing, and that money goes towards charities. You can also donate to online consignment stores like ThredUp and TheRealReal. However, make sure you ask about what that specific thrift store does with its items afterward - some stores just discard the clothing to landfills, which does not help.

2. You can also donate to large organizations that collect specific types of clothing, such as The Bra Recyclers, Souls 4 Soles, and the Blue Jeans Go Green program.

3. For clothes that aren't fit to be donated, these organizations will accept a variety of clothing in different conditions. Recycle Now, PlanetAid Bins, Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles, Donation Town, Council for Textile Recycling.

4. You and a group of your friends can organize a clothing swap, this is a perfect way to receive new clothes and discard clothing you do not wear anymore.

5. The classic garage sale is a great way to give your clothing (that's in relatively good condition) a new life and generate a profit at the same time.

REPURPOSING YOUR CLOTHING

Repurposing your old clothing is another great option. Old clothing can be used as rags around the house and even for compost if it is a biodegradable fabric. A stained, oversized shirt is handy when doing any sort of painting or other messy activities. If you own a sewing machine, you can create a variety of different items with something like an old t-shirt: tote bags, quilts, and blankets to sell on Etsy, a bag, or a stuffed animal, etc.

Here's a list of some fun ideas!

FINDING STORES THAT WILL RECYCLE YOUR CLOTHING FOR YOU

Some companies will accept their clothing items back for recycling and even accept clothing from any brand. Here is a list of some of the biggest names.

ZARA

PATAGONIA

H&M

AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS

LEVI'S

THE NORTH FACE

NIKE

VANS

COLUMBIA

Columbia has a ReThreads Program, which allows customers to bring in their used clothing and shoes in clean, dry conditions, at participating retail stores in the United States. The garments and footwear are sent to a textiles processing facility through I:CO

MEDIUM-SCALE OPTIONS

There are many textile recycling programs communities can partner with. These are medium-scale options, not meant for the individual person. Through research, Simple Recycling has been identified as one of the most reliable, popular, and affordable options.

SIMPLE RECYCLING

We also found several other clothing recycling options, but we aren't as confident about their reliability/availability due to lack of information and/or bad online ratings. You may want to Google them for your specific area though to see if they are available and, if they are, offer more area-specific reviews: Terracycle, I: CO City Program, Green City Recycler, Recycling Partnership, and American Textile Recycling Service

COMPARING COST AND LABOR FOR RECYCLING OPTIONS

Here is a cost and labor comparison for all the options discussed on this page.

STARTING A CLOTHING RECYCLING BUSINESS

Now let's explore starting your own clothing recycling business. This could be a great way to make money while also doing something good for the environment. The first thing you have to consider with a venture like this is how you are going to collect all of the clothing/fabric you need. For your local community and depending on size and density, there are several methods you can consider.

For collection, consider setting up bins in town centers or schools - any area that the people in your community tend to congregate is a great choice. If your area has low population density, consider driving around your town and asking for old clothing from your neighbors. Make sure that you make it clear what you plan to do with their old clothes.

The next step is to decide what to do with the clothing. First, separate the clothing by quality and fabric type. Separate clothes into resellable and non-resellable, and the non-resellable into organic fabrics and synthetic fabrics.

You now have several options. For high-quality clothing, consider either setting up a garage sale or driving to the nearest thrift store. For the clothing that is of lesser quality, consider repurposing. You can make creations for family, your community, or to sell on Etsy. Some potential creations include flower accessories, sleeping bags, quilts, stuffed animals, etc. Some especially creative ideas are to convert old socks into sock monkeys for children, create new scarves from old flannels, and/or turn your old button-ups into pillow covers. You can also compost organic cloth for your garden or use old pieces of fabric as rags, a great way to also avoid using so many paper towels! Even if the textile is stained or torn, it can be cut up into strips and used to stuff pillows or stuffed animals or provide insulation. If you want a more comprehensive list of project ideas, check out these articles and their ideas

If it is your own local "business", you will not have the machinery to process synthetic fabrics that you haven't repurposed. For whatever fabric is leftover you can research the closest large-scale textile recycling facility and drop it off.

IMPORTANT RECYCLING BUSINESSES CONSIDERATIONS

If you are going to start your own clothing recycling business, here's a list of important considerations:

1. You need a steady supply of unwanted textiles/clothing that you can collect. Some common methods of the collection include boxes in parking lots or by the street.

2. Figure out what equipment your textile recycling business needs to function. For instance, you would need equipment/a method to sort the textiles before using a textile recycling device that can shred it and separate it into fibers. Make note that if you try to process synthetic fabrics, you will need a machine that can granulate the material.

3. You will have to figure out the cost of transportation for your textiles to be transported back to your facility.

4. You must identify a buyer who is willing to collect whatever material you have converted the old clothing to , whether that be cloth, yarn, or wool. Some examples are textile factories, fashion retailers, tailors, and art shops.

5. In order for your business to be sustainable and successful, you'll have to make sure to draw up a good financial plan that will support the capital and labor required. Remember that you'll have to account for the cost of equipment, business materials, site rental, transport, energy, and wages.

6. When you sell your recycling fabrics, make sure to charge a price that will be able to support your operating costs. For initial funding, you can look towards local grants, crowdfunding, or peer-to-peer lending.

7. If you want to learn more about starting your own textile recycling business, here's a website we found helpful.

LARGE-SCALE CLOTHING RECYCLING BUSINESS EXAMPLES

Recycling is a growing industry and creating your own for-profit textile recycling program might be worth exploring. There are plenty of businesses out there to take inspiration from. Here are 3 successful examples:

USAgain

Ecosmith Recyclers, Inc.

Chicago Textile Recycling

BEST RECYCLING/REPURPOSING OPTIONS

Many situations benefit from different clothing recycling/repurposing options. We discuss here what we consider to be the best recycling/repurposing options for the three main living situations people find themselves in.

FOR LARGE CITIES

Many large cities already have some form of textile recycling in place. If you're looking to recycle in a large city, you should have access to many thrift stores where you can donate clothing you have that is in good condition. You'll also have access to stores like H&M where you can discard clothing that's not in great shape. There are often also bins that nonprofits will place around the city. In a densely populated city like New York City, programs similar to refashionNYC seem to be conducive to the type of housing many city residents live in. Contact your local city government to see if such a program exists or if one could be implemented. Another popular option is the Simple Recycling Program, which could be fairly easily implemented in most large cities. Not only does it come at no cost for the citizens, but it also provides a convenient method for recycling.

FOR SUBURBAN TOWNS

There are many, many options for suburban towns to implement textile recycling initiatives. For town-wide recycling, Simple Recycling is definitely an option for medium-sized towns who already run regular trash pick up days. For the individual, there are plenty of options for textile recycling too. Thrift stores are the best first destination to drop off the unwanted items that are of the best quality, and thrift stores in suburban areas are probably also just a short drive away. Additionally, large textile recycling charities and organizations may have bins set up either in a suburb or another town close by. Large shopping malls often have stores like Zara and H&M that accept clothing to be recycled too.

FOR RURAL/SMALL TOWNS

A big issue with recycling services in small and rural towns is that they do not have the same volume of recovered material that big cities do, which make curbside programs less economically viable. Small towns also lack alternative service options if they lose a recycling contractor. Transportation costs are also substantially higher because the population is so spread-out, making curbside programs less feasible. If you live in a rural area, you can help address this by coming up with a feasible way to collect clothing. As mentioned earlier in the Starting a Clothing Recycling Business section, one person can make a difference by driving around and collecting old clothing for the entire community. After you collect the clothing, you can drop it all off at a thrift store or, if you would like to convert the operation into you own "recycling business", you can engage in the process of sorting, selling, and repurposing the clothing.

ONE COMMUNITY CLOTHING RECYCLING PLAN
Q: How do I implement these recycling plans into my own city?
Moving forward, One Community has developed a plan to recycle all textile and clothing items. The first step in our textile recycling operation will be to organize the clothing by quality and type. Durable clothing that is in good shape will be shared with other community members, donated to thrift stores, or possibly even sold. As for clothing that is unfit to be worn again, we will seek to repurpose it through composting (organic fibers only), arts and crafts, etc. or drop it off at select retail stores like the ones listed above. Repurposing will also be applied in the form of converting old socks into sock monkeys or other animals, creating scarves out of old flannels, and converting old t-shirts into quilts, bags, etc. DIY projects like these will be kept for the community or possibly offered for sale online through sites like Etsy.
Q: My town doesn't offer a municipal textile recycling program, what are the best options to recycle my old clothing?
One Community will open source here our complete process as we grow our community to 1000+ residents and host over 100,000 overnight visitations annually. Our goal in doing this is to provide an open source example for other communities/organizations that want to take textile recycling into their own hands, especially in situations where local recycling services aren't available.
Q: How do I start my own clothing recycling business?
RESOURCES
Q: How do I make sure that my clothing is recycled properly and doesn't just end up in landfills?
Here are the resources referenced above:

1. Article: "Clothes Recycling Goes Curbside as Demand Rises"

2. Article: "How to Recycle Clothing and Accessories"

3. Article: "How To Recycle Clothes & Shoes That Aren't In Good Condition"

4. Article: "How Clothing Recycling Works"

5. Article: "The Basics of Textile Recycling"

6. Article: "Where to Recycle and Donate Your Own Clothes"

7. Article: "Can Clothing Be Recycled? How to Give Your Old Clothes New Life"

8. Article: "Why Recycle Shoes and Clothing?"

9. Article: "National Thrift Store Directory"

10. Article: "Lets Go Thrifting! The Ultimate Guide to Thrift Store Success"

11. Article: "21 Best Sustainable Fashion Brands You Can Actually Trust"

12. Article: "Ready-to-Waste: America's Clothing Crisis"

13. Article: "The Brands With the Best Clothing-Recycling Programs"

14. Article: "10 companies that reward you for recycling old products you don't want or use anymore"

15. Article: "Fashion's latest trend? Why H&M, other big brands are investing in garment recycling"

Here are some other resources we found useful:

SUMMARY

One Community has invested extensive time and research into the best small and large-scale recycling, repurposing, and reuse options for clothing (and plastic, glass, polystyrene/styrofoam, paper, food and other perishable items, and even non-recyclables). Categorizing the clothes looks to be the easiest and most sustainable option. High-quality reusable clothing will be shared, donated, repurposed, or sold. Non-reusable clothing will be composted (if it isn't synthetic fibers), used for rags, insulation, or handled as a non-recyclable. We will open source share here our group's experience with all of this as part of the development of the Earthbag Village and Duplicable City Center. We will evolve this page with videos and other data from this process as we use what we learn to help us improve our recycling, repurposing, and reuse strategies as we build each of the next 6 sustainable village models and grow to a community of hundreds.

FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS

A lot of options for larger cities and suburbs were listed above. You should contact your local city leadership to see what is available and what they might be open to if you are looking to implement something citywide. Or could take the initiative yourself, ask your neighbors and community to pitch in by donating or recycling their clothing.

Look for non-profits that might have bins in your areas, local thrift stores, and the other options that were listed above.

Check out the guide above!

This will require you to do your own research, specific to where you live, and what method you wish to use. We suggest reading reviews of the organizations and see if there have been negative comments or articles about them online.

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Open Source Large & Small-scale Community Clothing Recycling, Reuse, & Repurposing Research and Tutorial

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Clothing is a resource that is present almost in all human communities. When we're done with clothing, it doesn't need to go landfills though, it can be recycled, reused and/or repurposed. We discuss small and large-scale approaches to both processes here and with the following sections: RELATED PAGES (Click icons for complete pages) Clothing recycling is part of textile recycling.

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Found on Facebook (RESEARCHED BY: Jianna Angelica Janea) 

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SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/uniqlo.ph/photos/donate-your-unneeded-clothes-and-help-a-person-in-need-just-approach-any-of-our-/1302100509859697/
AUTHOR: Uniqlo Philippines
DATE PUBLISHED: June 16, 2017

KEY INFO: A project, "Uniqlo Recycle," conducted by the brand Uniqlo themselves, aims to make the world a better place by giving old and unwanted clothes a new purpose through encouraging their loyal customers to donate their unneeded clothes. Which then would be distributed directly to every person in need all over the globe.

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Maliit na ang Palda ni Isay Children's Book (RESEARCHED BY: Lawrence Heart Minerva)

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SOURCE: https://www.handsonparentwhileearning.com/product/maliit-na-ang-palda-ni-isay-childrens-book/
AUTHOR: Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag

DATE PUBLISHED: September 14, 2018
KEY INFO: Kids learn to value their education through this story. How to live a simple life and not be materialistic and how to reuse and recycle are also some of the lessons kids can learn from Isay.

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Maliit na ang Palda ni Isay is about a little girl named Isay who's school uniform was getting smaller. Her mom taught her how to be practical and wise. Find out how!

Kids learn to value their education through this story. How to live a simple life and not be materialistic and how to reuse and recycle are also some of the lessons kids can learn from Isay.
"Maliit Na Ang Palda ni Isay brings out the environmentalist in us. Isay teaches us a thing or two about collaboration and sustainable living. Instilling these traits in our kids can't be more timely than now."
- AG Saño-Full, Photographer, Street Artist, Landscape Architect, Environment Advocate, WWF-Philippines Hero of the Environment, Dolphins Love FreedomFounder, Climate Reality Project Leadership Awardee

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Maliit na ang Palda ni Isay Children's Book

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Maliit na ang Palda ni Isay is about a little girl named Isay who's school uniform was getting smaller. Her mom taught her how to be practical and wise. Find out how! Kids learn to value their education through this story.

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How To Recycle Your Old Clothes | One Small Step | NowThis (RESEARCHED BY: Jianna Angelica Janea) 

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URL: https://youtu.be/eDOAKQFSLgA
TITLE: How To Recycle Your Old Clothes | One Small Step | NowThis
AUTHOR: NowThis Earth
DATE PUBLISHED: May 25, 2019
KEY INFO:  Lucy Biggers talks about the negative impact of clothes waste when piled up in Landfills. So instead of throwing it away, she decided to sell all of her unwanted clothes to a thrift shop and donated to a clothing donation drop box headed by wearable collection.

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How To Recycle Old Clothes | One Small Step

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How donated clothes are sorted and reused (RESEARCHED BY: Maryieka Estoesta) 

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URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJMvX6qSq04
TITLE:

Recycling fashion: How donated clothes are sorted and reused

AUTHOR: GLOBAL NEWS
DATE PUBLISHED: December 21, 2018
KEY INFO: Ever wondered where your old and used clothing goes after it's thrown into a donation bin? Turns out there are entire industries that rely on the recycling and resale of your old garments.

The demand for such businesses is becoming increasingly more important as"fast fashion" trends continue to drive annual clothing purchases - up nearly 400 per cent worldwide over the last two decades.

The need is even more apparent, as the number of times consumers wear their clothes before they get rid of them continues to drop.

Amy Chyan explores who is benefiting from clothing donations and how consumer cravings for the latest apparel is having an impact on the environment

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How donated clothes are sorted and reused

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Circular economy and textiles webinar | UNCTAD (RESEARCHED BY: Lawrence Heart Minerva) 

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SOURCE:
https://unctad.org/osgstatement/circular-economy-and-textiles-webinar
TITLE: Circular economy and textiles webinar
AUTHOR:  Isabelle Durant
DATE PUBLISHED: 26 January 2021
KEY INFO: We all remember the tragedy of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. Also, the fashion industry is a major source of pollution and waste.

Moreover, under the guise of caritative purposes, we are collecting “old” clothes for donation, creating an illusion of solidarity and circularity. But the reality is more complex. A very small percentage of clothes collected are provided as charity to people in need.

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Circular economy and textiles webinar | UNCTAD

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As we strive to maintain and foster a healthy planet, we need to change our business models and policies. Therefore, today’s webinar is very timely and relevant. The circular economy is on everyone’s mind when we talk about green recovery. And for good reasons: If effectively implemented, circular e…

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Where to Donate to help out those affected by Typhoon Ulysses | Booky (RESEARCHED BY: Lawrence Heart Minerva) 

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SOURCE:
https://booky.ph/blog/typhoon-donations/
TITLE: Where to Donate to help out those affected by Typhoon Ulysses

AUTHOR: The Booky Team
DATE PUBLISHED: November 16, 2020
KEY INFO: This site is for the different ads and their sources to be posted for easier access to those who want to donate their clothes and other necessities for the victims.

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Let's help our kababayans!

With the recent typhoons like Rolly, Siony and Ulysses, many cities and communities were flooded and damaged, leaving hundred of Filipinos stranded and homeless. With this, as one country and nation, it's time to come together and help our affected kababayans in this difficult time.

Would you like to donate? Here's a cheat sheet of different foundations and organizations who have their own donations drives who accept monetary and in kind donations.

ABS-CBN Foundation is accepting cash and in kind donations to help our fellow Kapamilyas. For in kind donations, you may also call Bantay Bata 163 Hotline from 7am to 7pm to coordinate drop-off of donations.

Anakbayan is a comprehensive national democratic mass organization of the Filipino youth. For their updated payment details, refer below:

GCash: 09663313446, Cherisse San Andres
PayPal: cherissesanandres@gmail.com

View their Facebook page
Check out their website

Caritas Manila will be sending relief assistance to the Archdiocese of Manila, Diocese of Antipolo, Diocese of Kalookan, Diocese of Gumaca, and other Dioceses affected by Typhoon Ulysses. Donations will either be for shelter materials, clean water and health kits.

View their Facebook page
Check out their website

With For Our Farmers' Project Sag1p, they were able to distribute food and grocery packs, and hygiene kits to different parts of the country who were greatly affect by the typhoon such as Marikina, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Isabela.

View their Facebook page
Check out their website

An environmental conservation organization, For The Future's donation channels still remain open to support their on ground teams in devastated areas. For in-kind donations, drop off center is at Adspin Advertising Inc. Makati until November 19.

I Support the Girls's mission is to be able to collect and distribute essential items like bras, underwear and menstrual hygiene products to women in need. Due to the typhoon, they are urgently in need of menstrual hygiene products to help bring relief to the victims.

iUplift is a student-led initiative that's actively organizing efforts to the affected communities in Marikina and the Bicol Region. Donations will be used to buy food, hygiene kits and slippers for the victims.

Oplan Kaagapay, a project of JCI Philippines to help victims of disasters and calamities, is now active. All donations will go directly to those families and communities affected by Typhoon Ulysses. It's also available in Lazada, check it out here.

In coordination with the Office of the Vice President, the Kaya Natin! Movement has organized relief operations to the communities affected by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses.

The League of Filipino Students is seeking donations and assistance in order to provide relief to the communities in Bicol and Cavite who have been affected by Typhoon Rolly and Ulysses. They accept both monetary and in-kind donations.

View their Facebook page
View their Instagram account

Our furry friends need our help too. PAWSssion Project organized a donation drive for Cagayan, accepting both monetary and in-kind donations like dog food, groceries, blankets and cleaning materials to name a few.

Not only do they provide life-saving services to the Filipinos, Philippine Red Cross also supplies hot meals to the evacuation centers for the typhoon victims and is open for donations.

Sadiwa brings a piece of Cordillera in the Metro with products like fresh strawberries, jams and coffee beans. They are accepting in kind relief donations like face masks, non-perishable food, vitamins and more.

View their Facebook page
View their Instagram account

Tulong Kabataan has partnered with different organizations and establishments to help our brothers and sisters who were affected by the typhoon. They are still open for monetary and in kind donations.

UP Diliman University Student Council and Tulong Kabataan UP Diliman is once again calling for donations in order to provide relief for those affected by the typhoon. Both monetary and in kind donations are accepted.

View their Facebook page
Cover image from Kaya Natin.
Know some more initiatives and projects that donate to the victims of the recent typhoons? DM us on Instagram at @bookyapp for your suggestions. Let's make sure to keep each other safe despite these trying times. Take care always! - The Booky Team

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Where to Donate to help out those affected by Typhoon Ulysses | Booky

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Let's help our kababayans! With the recent typhoons like Rolly, Siony and Ulysses, many cities and communities were flooded and damaged, leaving hundred of Filipinos stranded and homeless. With this, as one country and nation, it's time to come together and help our affected kababayans in this difficult time.

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Please donate clothes, people in need are cold | /r/wholesomememes | Wholesome Memes (RESEARCH BY: Kyle Raphael Ortuoste) 

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This meme tells us that Drake prefers to donate clothes rather than throwing them away, this means donating is a better choice.