Why You Should Consider Donating Old Clothes To A Charitable Organization This Spring
Have you donated clothes before? Whether you’re a clothing donation guru or someone just starting to get their feet wet in recycling, charitable clothing donations are an incredibly useful service. They go a long way in helping the environment, give back to countless industries and even save you money when tax season rolls around. At the end of the day? It just feels good to help the world out through something as deceptively simple as a cleaner closet. Let’s talk about charitable donations, local donation pick ups and why they’re a trend that only gets more and more popular by the day.
Americans And Their Clothing Habits
Americans love their fashion. They also love to donate. The average American purchases 10 pounds of previously used clothing on a yearly basis, with the year 2007 seeing an estimated $5 billion worth of clothing related donations made to local and international charity foundations. Not bad, right? Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to recycling useful materials and giving back to nearby communities.
The Impact Of Landfills
Landfills are used to dispose of all sorts of trash. While they’re a necessary part of everyday societies, they have a noticeably negative impact on the environment and can contribute to all sorts of problems if not reduced. The average person will generate four ponds of trash every day — that’s a ton of solid waste per year — and studies have shown at least 12 million tons of clothing and textile waste is thrown out in the United States every single year. How can you reduce this trend yourself?
Supporting Your Industries
Why throw out materials that can be reused? Clothes are full of useful textiles that can be re-purposed and put back into the economy — latex, spandex, cotton and even various dyes can be used all over again, reducing strain on national resources and stimulating all kinds of businesses across the country. Americans either recycle or donate only 15% of their used clothing, with the rest going straight into landfills. This gives textiles one of the poorest recycling ratings of any currently usable material.
Donating Your Used Clothes
Donating used clothes is a great way to stimulate the economy, help the environment and save everyone money in the long-term. Studies have shown over 90% of Americans will participate in some level of charitable giving and, according to the Council For Textile Recycling, America will create 25 billion pounds of brand new textiles every year. If you’re worried about your ability to donate clothes to your local charitable service, local donation pick ups can offer you the resources you need. All you have to do is give your local donation pick ups easy-to-follow directions and they can pick up any boxes or bags at their soonest convenience. Consider picking up a new good habit today and re-purpose your old sweaters and ill-fitting jackets to organizations that accept clothing donations.
