Downloadable from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Facilitating a Circular Economy for Textiles —their three-day workshop report of bringing together clothing and textiles fashion brands, manufacturers, industry associations, recyclers, waste managers, researchers, policymakers, and scientists— recommended strategies to address the fact that
<big>Only about 15% of used clothes and other textiles in the United States [shoes, bedding, mattresses, towels, curtains, upholstery, carpeting etc] get reused or recycled. The other 85% head straight to the landfill or incinerator. This wastes scarce resources, contributes to climate change and pollutes [air and] waterways.</big>
Ugh. Better alternative? Circular economy: personal-level-to-industrial-and-back-again ♻️ reprocessing for the advantages we get when materials go round through repeated reuse, repair, remanufacturing and usage again — major savings on origination, energy, labor and machinery, plus expanded job opportunity in new fields of business, with discard a fractional last resort, cleaner air, cleaner water, hence cleaner food, cleaner oceans, better health.
According to the report co-author, environmental engineer Kelsea Schumacher (see also her blogpost HERE including video):
“Textiles are one of the fastest growing categories in the waste stream … But there are a lot of opportunities to reduce [it] that would bring big economic and environmental benefits.”
...<big><big>On average, each person in the United States discarded roughly 47 kilograms (103 pounds) of textiles</big></big> [in 2018 alone]
When you think about it, that’s a BIG VALUABLE RESOURCE!! We just need to grow our language and ideas for talking with neighbors, friends, family and local government, in ways that matter to them and make sense to them —e.g., shared benefit/“profit”— to turn that trash around, from the grassroots and home-ground on up to where the market is eagerly waiting for it!
For example, circular economy (a.k.a. “closed loop”) slooows the need for more land tied up as landfill. That decreases the growth of property taxes —valuably also for low-income homeowners and renters as proportion of their housing costs— and allows a myriad of better purposes for landspace instead.
And more new jobs in new industries also expand business opportunity and increase the proportion of population paying taxes, including into Social Security and Medicare!
The report points out that many people do donate good-condition used clothing and other items so that organizations can re-sell them —including to those of us who need things at low cost and/or are committed to buying only recycled rather than raw-new whenever possible— or get them to people who need those items at zero-cost. You’ll find folks and organizations across the political spectrum already doing this for decades and generations, because it’s part of their traditions.
But ALSO even things too old or worn to be used as-is actually have excellent “afterlife: potential. E.g., merely [a] there is literally an industrial rag manufacturing industry needing that stuff; and [2] reprocessing industries with the tech and skills to separate fibers for redirecting into “new” product manufacturing, such as for stuffing for upholstered furniture and car seats or home insulation, among other uses we might not have thought about. (See diaries tagged Reprocessing,
The authors of the report compiled data from multiple sources to create a flow diagram that shows what happens to textiles in the United States after they are donated or discarded:
From Schumacher’s blogpost (which includes a video!):
all unwanted textile products should be donated or recycled no matter their condition. Even if they’re no longer marketable for their designed purpose, there are many routes in place [to extend their value differently]. While thrift stores generally prefer “gently used” products, most will [industrially] recycle textiles not sellable in their stores ...even your worn underwear and ratty T-shirts… [especially if there’s no personally-accessible program such as] municipally run drop-off bins and local transfer stations.
[The] SMART [Association] is a textile recycling trade group that can help you find recycling resources in your area.
Other key takeaways from the workshop:
- Rubber-band shoes together when you donate them, so they stay together! There is no resale value in one shoe, and donation centers don’t necessarily have the capacity to search for missing partners.
- Similarly, bag or band together infant and children clothing sets, such as pajamas.
- ...pure-fiber textiles, such as 100% cotton or wool, are [especially] recyclable.… [list of natural plant and animal fibers]
...and keep in mind that
New synthetic (e.g., polyester) clothing is a significant source of microplastics in the environment. But roughly 90% of those microplastics are lost in the first three launderings. So,
BUYING [SYNTHETIC] ITEMS ONLY SECOND-HAND HELPS DECREASE ADDITION OF MICROPLASTICS TO OUR LAND, FOOD, WATER SUPPLY AND OCEANS. |
More on practical sustainability from NIST: Waste Not, Want Not: The ‘Circular Economy’ Gives Opportunities to Help Create a More Environmentally Sound Future by Kate Beers April 22, 2022 — technological solutions can be scaled up from individual molecules to entire industries.
To explore more on these topics in dk posts by kosaks over the years, click on various tags up in the left margin. And all the images are in the DK image library, available to all kosaks to share in diaries and comments.