Planet Coats Sale
Most people probably believe emptying their closets is a pretty straightforward process. You either donate your unwanted clothes to a charitable organization or throw them in the trash- end of story. The truth is, it's a little more complicated than that, and your clothes probably don't end up where you think they do. Below are some common myths about what happens to our clothes when we're done wearing them.
#1. Americans donate or recycle most of their used clothing
There are lots of socially-conscious ways to dispose of our unwanted clothing, but in reality Americans opt to throw away most of their old clothes.
On average, Americans decide to get rid of about 70 pounds of textiles each year, with 85 percent of our old duds ending up in a landfill. That means we are collectively generating 14 million tons of clothing waste annually, and only 2 million tons are being donated, recycled, or reused.
This large amount of waste might be due to the fact that we don't know what to do with items that have holes or stains (or items that are just so ugly that no one would feasibly want to wear them again). The trash bin seems like the only option, but in reality .
While you can't throw your torn shirt in the recycle bin in most communities, there are organizations that will accept these items and make sure that they don't end up in a landfill if they don't need to be.
#2. People in the U.S. have a great need for used clothing
Yes, there are individuals in the U.S. who need used clothing, but the larger truth is that the vast bulk of donated clothing is not needed or wanted here. Remember, we let go of 14 million tons of unwanted clothing every year! That's the same weight as 350 cruise ships! There is simply not enough domestic demand for this huge quantity of clothes.
There are people who want these items, they just happen to live outside our borders. You can find secondhand markets all over the world displaying American castoffs. Used clothing is so deeply woven into the fabric of some cultures (no pun intended) that they even have their own special word for it. For example, in Haiti used clothing is called pepe, in Tanzania it is mitumba, in Zambia it is salaula, and in Central America it is ropa americana.
(All that said, Planet Aid still does donate clothes and other items to the needy in the U.S. on a regular basis. We have, worked with the L.A.Fire Department to supply clothing to victims of fire, and .)
