EVERYTHING Has A Use!

I like to think I do a pretty good job of recycling my old clothes, but an article in last weekend's Post-Dispatch entitled "Give Old Clothes New Life" really opened my eyes. In it, I learned a couple of interesting facts: 

• the average person gets rid of more than 70 pounds of clothes each year
• according to the EPA, 95 percent of textiles can be recycled, but only about 15 percent actually are

We keep a donation box next to the closets in the master bedroom to throw our unwanted items in, but I've always assumed there's some things that Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul does NOT want, like our holey socks and underwear with stretched-out elastic.  I assumed wrong. The article said they'll take everything, although the nice thing to do is segregate the unwearable items and indicate they're damaged. That will save the store personnel from having to go through them.

What happens to those damaged items? They're sold to businesses that sort, process, shred and export textiles, with the money going to the charity's programs and services. The items might be turned into industrial wiping cloths, or get shredded and turned into automotive insulation or seat cushion stuffing.

This morning I placed a small bag next to the donation box to hold the less-prime things, then added some cloth napkins that I was going to throw away.  Wonder where they'll end up?

Candidate for recycling

Five years ago today: Countdown To A Wedding