Economic Impact of Textile & Clothing Recycling

Jana Hawley article

Presented by:

Deirdre Littlejohn

Summary

• There are millions of pounds of clothing and used textiles sent to the landfill each year

• There are many ways to divert this highly recyclable matter from landfills– Consumers

• Giving to charities• Don’t throw away old clothes, recycle them• Lobby for curbside pick up of old clothing

– Businesses• Sell to rag dealers• Export used apparel and textiles

– Governments• Policies that enable recycling pipeline• Curbside/ municipal collection of textiles

Problem• Too much sent to landfill

– High cost– Taking unnecessary space and land

• Textile industry is “hidden”– Black markets– Not approved by

• Lack of government support

• Lack of knowledge and support of system

Parties InvolvingMyriad of participants

• Textile producers(pre- consumers)• Textile consumers

– Pre vs. Post

• Textile recycling pipeline participants– Charities and second hand retailers– Rag dealers- Graders– Market sellers– Engineers, fashion designers, industry

leaders

Environmental/ Economic IssueTextiles being sent to landfills

• Textiles are consumed heavily in developed & developing countries

• Fashion Cycles versus conservative consumption

• Avg. cost to dump in U.S. landfill - $70 a pound

• Avg. American throws away 68 pounds of clothing and textiles a year

• Old clothing and textiles are almost 100% recyclable

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Discussion of proposed solutions

Consumers:• Donate to charities, never through textiles into the trash• Advocate for textile recycling in your local municipality

Pre- Consumers:• Proper disposal for “un-wearables” sold to poorer countries• Incineration of reclaimed fiber

– Textiles as alt fuel source

What about Ethical Fashion?

Environmentally Responsible Production

• Ethical fashion-

An approach to:

Design, Sourcing, & Manufacture

… of clothing which is both socially and environmentally conscious and Sustainable.

What about Disposal?

Retooled Fashion

New Products from Old

Unexpected Materials

New Textile OptionsMarcia Ganem Polyimide Garments