Sustainable Clothing: Valuing Vintage
82% of the clothes Americans own have not been worn in the past year.
This week’s sustainability step along the sustainable goods pathway is part of a “shop wisely” strategy for clothing—recognizing that we often buy clothing we rarely wear. When we give away or sell clothing we’re not using, we allow someone else to wear it, eliminate the need to make more clothing, and make room in our homes for clothing that we wear frequently. We can “reduce, reuse, and recycle” our way from a “throw-away economy” to a “circular economy,” helping people choose affordable second-hand threads or spend a little more for vintage pieces and avoid fast fashion.
Before we dive into improving the sustainability of our wardrobes, a quick announcement for paid subscribers: We will be holding a live Zoom call for you on Wednesday, December 6, from 7 to 7:30 p.m. ET. Questions about specific areas of sustainability? Wondering how you can motivate and lead your organization? Join us for a short live discussion you won't want to miss, led by Fred from New Zealand, where he is currently researching, traveling, and working remotely. Thank you to each and every paid subscriber for supporting our work!
On the sustainable goods pathway, clothing and fashion is an important area, which we’ll be exploring in the next few action guides. In this guide, we’ll focus on just one aspect: giving existing clothing a better chance to be worn. To help us take effective action, we can set quantifiable goals for ourselves:
Increase the percentage of our clothing that we wear each year. An international study showed that each year, Belgians wore 12% of the clothing they own, while Russians wore 47% of their clothes. Americans believed that they wore more than 22% of their clothing at least once a year but actually wore only 18%.
Sell, rather than give or throw away, a higher percentage of our clothing that is in good shape but we don’t wear. According to the EPA, almost 13 million tons of clothing and footwear end up in the waste stream every year. While selling old clothing takes more work than donating, it increases the chances that clothing will stay in circulation and encourages us to be thoughtful about our purchases and habits. If we feel a responsibility to find a new home for our clothes rather than simply discarding them, we’ll be less cavalier about buying new clothes.
Donate, rather than landfill, clothing we can’t sell. Places like Goodwill Industries have connections with textile recycling organizations to help keep clean fiber out of landfills even if clothing doesn’t sell.
Increase the percentage of second-hand clothing we buy, closing the loop on reuse. According to one source, only “28 percent of people donate used clothing, and a mere 7 percent of people purchase used clothing.” For the used clothing market to work better, it needs both sellers and buyers.
Help! I’ve got too many clothes I never wear, but I’m having a hard time letting them go.
The first thing to know is that you’re not alone: do a quick online search for “how do I pare down my wardrobe,” and you’ll get lots of ideas. I found “How I Went from 500+ Pieces to a Minimalist Wardrobe: 10 Steps” to be a really great and detailed first-person account. In my own case, I hired a friend who had started a company called “Prune” to help people downsize in general—not just clothing but everything they own. Unfortunately, Prune is no longer in business, but you may find a similar service in your neighborhood. My friend was inspired by Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method for “tidying”—keeping only the items that spark joy and discarding the rest.
Help! I want to turn my clothes into cash, but I don’t know how.
If you’re willing to put a little time into learning how to sell your old clothes, check out “How to Responsibly Sell Your Used Clothes.” If you’re too busy (or too shy) to try to convince strangers to buy what you no longer want to wear, put out the word to friends and family to see if any of them are interested in making some money selling clothes. Negotiate a percentage and let them do the heavy lifting. Believe it or not, some people actually enjoy buying and selling old clothes!
Help! I want to donate my clothing to charity, but I’ve heard that most donated clothing actually ends up in the landfill. Is it worth donating, or should I just throw it away myself?
Where most donated clothing actually ends up is difficult to say, but it’s safe to assume that only a small percentage continues to be used as clothing. When you donate your clothing to a place like Goodwill, they will sort it into categories. A large percentage of donated clothing gets turned into rags and other products that can be made from fibers. However, some donated clothing can be sold, and that is a valuable revenue stream for charities. You can help charities operate efficiently by NOT donating clothing that is infested with mold, mildew, or insects.
A good reference is “How to Donate Clothes: The Do’s & Don’ts.” In general, clothes that are clean, without holes or stains, are worth donating. If you have natural fiber—cotton, real silk, wool, hemp, etc.—clothes that are moldy or moth-eaten, you can cut them up and compost them. Synthetic fibers like polyester cannot be composted. In theory, it’s possible to recycle torn or stained clothing made from synthetic fibers, but in practice, it’s often difficult. If you have a large amount of textile materials, SMART (Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles), the Association of Wiping Materials, Used Clothing and Fiber Industries, can help you recycle them.
Help! I want to buy used clothes, but I’m worried about bugs.
Buying used clothing is one time when plastic bags can be good for the environment. While it is unlikely, it is always possible that used clothing can harbor tiny eggs that will hatch into bed bugs, roaches, moths, or other pests. The best practice is to bring a plastic bag for your purchases, put the clothes in the bag, and carefully seal it up, and then when you get home put the clothing directly from the bag into a washing machine and then into a high heat dryer for 90 minutes.
Studies show that 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes results in 100% mortality for bed bugs. If you have items that you don’t want to put in a dryer, or if you don’t have a dryer, putting a few items of clothing in a sealed up black plastic bag in direct sun for several days is also extremely likely to heat up all the clothing above 120 F. The key is to put just a few items of clothing in each bag to ensure that there are no cool pockets where insects can survive.
Help! I want to buy used clothes but I don’t have a lot of time.
If you like spending time shopping, buying used clothing can be a fun, guilt-free excursion. But if you don’t like shopping or don’t have time to search the racks of your local thrift store, here are a few online sites that can make it quick and easy to buy used clothing:
For more options, check out “33 Second Hand Stores for the Best Online Thrift Shopping.”
What’s Still Ahead on the Pathway…
Earlier this year, we explored the pathways to sustainable movement and energy; now, we’re exploring the pathway to sustainable goods. What are the best ways to reach a circular economy, recycling materials and preventing pollution? Stay with us on the journey to sustainability as we take action to have a positive impact on the world.
References and Further Reading
Being Sustainable, Fred Horch
People do not wear at least 50 percent of their wardrobes, says study, Fashion United
A Guide To Selling Used Clothes — From People Who Do It All The Time, mbg planet
What is a circular economy?, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Guide To: Secondhand Shopping, Trash Is for Tossers
What Makes Vintage Fashion the Superior Sustainable Alternative?, Vogue
Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact, Earth.org
Dispatch from NZ: A Yankee Among Kiwis, Fred Horch
The Clothes You Donate Don't Always End Up on People's Backs, Treehugger
How I Went from 500+ Pieces to a Minimalist Wardrobe: 10 Steps, The Scentaur
What is the KonMari Method™ ?, KonMari
How to Responsibly Sell Your Used Clothes, good on you
Using Heat to Kill Bed Bugs, Virginia Tech
33 Second Hand Stores For The Best Online Thrift Shopping, Sustainable Jungle