Jul 10, 2009 4:32 pm US/Eastern
Green Scene: Recycling Clothes
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Did you know that getting rid of clothes can be green? Of course, you can donate your hand-me-downs, but even clothes that are ripped and damaged might be able to be reused.
Katrina Drones has four kids who go through clothes fast!
"I bag them up and pass them down," said Drones.
But what happens to clothes that are ripped beyond repair?
Drones admits, "I have actually thrown some clothes away if they have holes in them."
But Emily Main, senior editor for National Geographic Green Guide, says, "There's no need to send it to a landfill."
Did you know 93 percent of textiles are recyclable? Yet we reuse only about 15 percent, clogging our landfills with 10 tons of trash each year. But old clothes often get new life.
Main said, "They get turned into stuffing for couches. Really fine, high-quality stationery is made out of recycled cotton rags. It's used as stuffing in car doors for acoustic insulation."
The same charities that take your donations can often recycle them. At the Salvation Army, about 40 percent of donated clothes are sold in their stores.
Henry Filoteo of the Salvation Army said, "What doesn't sell is recycled, whether they are resorted and resold in other countries, or they're sorted and then reprocessed to be used for other types of materials."
Old clothing can be sold by the bale to textile recyclers, who break it down.
Chris Walsh, vice president of operations for Leigh Fibers, said, "We take it from a thread or yarn state down to a fibrous state, which allows us to mix it with other fibers that our customers need for their products."
Drones loves the idea. "Just because my kids can't wear their clothes anymore doesn't mean it's something that I need to throw away," she said.
Experts recommend donating clean clothes. Dirt can contaminate an entire bale of clothing. Then the whole load must be sent to the landfill.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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