Think Locally and Globally Save the Planet Through Local Clothing Donations

Did you know that the United States produces more waste than any other country on Earth? It’s an unfortunate fact. Much of that waste — approximately 5% of it — is comprised of clothing and textiles, and almost all of that could be recycled. However, all of this unnecessary waste creates big problems for the planet. To make matters worse, we could avoid this by purchasing less and encouraging factories to create less, too.

There is a solution, though, and that’s to give gently used clothing donations to charity rather than sending them to a landfill. Why is this so important? The clothing manufacturing process puts a great toll on our environment and produces a lot of waste. All of this is unnecessary, and there are many benefits to reducing this type of consumption. Want more information? Here are the benefits of local clothing donations and their impact on the environment.

• Charitable clothing donations help reduce landfill waste. Our landfills are already, well, full, in most cases, so sending more items there for unnecessary reasons just creates more land pollution. Why waste when you can donate? Your local clothing donations can help other people rather than sitting in a garbage dump.
• Clothing donations help us see how much we consume. We purchase more clothing in the U.S. than we tend to need, and we own far more garments than we used to purchase. By seeing the amount of “disposable” clothing we and our family members own (including children), we can see where we may need to cut back in our household spending, too.
• By curbing our clothing spending habits, we can also send a message to clothing manufacturers. Clothing manufacturers often produce far more than they need to, so this also accounts for waste. By purchasing fewer garments per year, factories can also slow down the amount they produce. This will produce fewer pollutants as synthetic fabrics are made and other garments are processed. It could also help cut out sweatshop labor to some degree, too.

Want more information on how your local clothing donations can help the planet? Contact your local charities about clothing drives and other clothing pick ups, or leave a comment below.