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What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

theatlantic.com

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Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#61

Post by michaelgrafl »

trgn wrote: post #46
ziddoap wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately I'm not allowed to walk around naked, so I am forced to purchase clothes at some point. And at some later point, I have to dispose of them. Your comment doesn't seem to address that, and it's pretty fundamental to the question, I think.

> And at some later point, I have to dispose of them. I somewhat disagree. You do have to get your clothes, but what is about the disposing of perfectly fine clothes that's necessary? It's only because we have too many of them. Wear the clothes until they're worn. Use the rags.

None of my clothes are perfectly fine unless I've hardly ever worn them.

The disposal of unworn clothes is probably a result of the fast fashion industry. But other than that clothes still get worn out and need to get replaced.

I wish I could repair and recolor all my clothes to make them look decent again, but I just can't.

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#62

Post by dendrite9 »

nico wrote: post #59
a1pulley wrote: post #54

I'm willing to spend, say, 5 or 10x what one would at Uniqlo or Old Navy to buy quality garments that will last a long time and be socially acceptable in upper middle class west coast cliques—i.e., I don't need tailored suits in my world. Where do I go?

Patagonia is not 5-10x those brands, but they do promise to repair your clothes if you bring them in. So even if the quality is not necessarily much better, at least they’ll help you make your clothes last.

Have they gotten better at that? I had a favorite pair of ski pants replaced instead of being repaired several years ago for a relatively minor zipper replacement. The cost of replacing a zipper is ridiculous compared to the cost of the zipper or even the pants. Probably because the pattern is not made with zipper replacement in mind. I was content to pin that pocket or add a flap and button over the zipper.

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#63

Post by kipchak »

ziddoap wrote: post #39
trgn wrote: post #22

> There is simply no easy, universal guidance for the most Earth-friendly or hassle-free or socially good way for you to dispose of your old clothes But there is. In fact, the answer is right in the setup of the article. > For much of American history [...] most of the population considered the endless accumulation of material goods unseemly, Basically, don't buy so many clothes to begin with. And then you don't have…

Unfortunately I'm not allowed to walk around naked, so I am forced to purchase clothes at some point. And at some later point, I have to dispose of them. Your comment doesn't seem to address that, and it's pretty fundamental to the question, I think.

It's worth noting that you and I are probably wear more times than the average amount. For example I've seen numbers like the average garment is worn on average seven times[1], and garments being considered "old" if they're worn twice.[2] Even if these numbers are exaggerated it's still much lower than typical use and waste compared to the average.

[1]https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ghana-fast-fashion-environmenta...

[2]https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-12/fast-fashion-turning-...

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#64

Post by InitialLastName »

jvanderbot wrote: post #13
WillAdams wrote: post #5

I wear old clothes when doing yard work or woodworking or metalworking --- by the time I'm done, they're only suited to be cut up for rags, and I have a jar which I clip the buttons into --- if a zipper is YKK and still in good condition I'll cut around it in case I need to replace a zipper on something. I've tried to convince my wife to take up quilting, but she has zero interest, and I don't have the time.

Nice clothes -> Gym clothes / shop clothes -> sleepwear -> rags (can spend years here) -> trash I've got trashbags full of old sheets and t-shirts, and they're so useful for random straining, cleanup, covering tools, degreasing, painting, etc.

This exactly (although I tend not to sleep in former shop clothes, too much grease in my shop).

Nothing beats a t-shirt for cleaning a bicycle chain, though (and they make perfectly good handkerchiefs too).

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#65

Post by dumpHero2 »

a1pulley wrote: post #54

I'm willing to spend, say, 5 or 10x what one would at Uniqlo or Old Navy to buy quality garments that will last a long time and be socially acceptable in upper middle class west coast cliques—i.e., I don't need tailored suits in my world. Where do I go?

While I share the sentiment and willingness to do the same, the convenience of using the washer and dryer is immense! I cannot bring myself to separate clothes into lots based on their washing instructions, nor can I bother to hang dry them. Even the best quality clothes become rags very quickly in a dryer.

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#66

Post by trgn »

jjulius wrote: post #57
trgn wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And at some later point, I have to dispose of them. I somewhat disagree. You do have to get your clothes, but what is about the disposing of perfectly fine clothes that's necessary? It's only because we have too many of them. Wear the clothes until they're worn. Use the rags.

I don't disagree with the general concept of reducing/reusing, but... >Use the rags. ... OP said your comment doesn't seem to address the inevitability of disposal. You only responded with another method of reuse, but let's be honest here - rags need to be disposed of at some point, too.

I guess, at that point, the textile is just trash? Literally, just trash it.

I think the article was more about no place to donate perfectly fine clothes, and the uncertainty what happens to them after donating. Having to throw away 5 items (e.g. because your size changes) will weigh on your conscience a lot less than having to throw away 15.

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#67

Post by nico »

dendrite9 wrote: post #62
nico wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Patagonia is not 5-10x those brands, but they do promise to repair your clothes if you bring them in. So even if the quality is not necessarily much better, at least they’ll help you make your clothes last.

Have they gotten better at that? I had a favorite pair of ski pants replaced instead of being repaired several years ago for a relatively minor zipper replacement. The cost of replacing a zipper is ridiculous compared to the cost of the zipper or even the pants. Probably because the pattern is not made with zipper replacement in mind. I was content to pin that pocket or add a flap and button over the zipper.

Good point. I couldn’t say, but I think most people never even consider the possibility of bringing the stuff back for repair.

Hence, I guess the demand for repair work is probably very low, and they might not have good processes in place to do it.

From a pure transactional perspective, it’s nice that they are essentially selling a clothing service for which you pay only once per item. But from an environmental angle, it sucks that they might not really be fulfilling their promise.

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#68

Post by kenned3 »

capableweb wrote: post #2

All the countries I've lived in during my life (4) have had various types of "boxes" on the street where you can dump clothes, which subsequently gets donated to various organizations that handles giving clothes to people in need. Since I've found this in every country I've lived, I thought this was ubiquitous in the modern world. Am I maybe blinded by my experience here?

I have to question those large "boxes" and their true motives.

Homeless People have literally DIED trying to get things out of the bins.

If the goal is to get the clothing to those who need it, why build the bins in such a way that removal is impossible?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-...

"At least seven Canadians have died after getting stuck in clothing donation bins, and the latest fatality has prompted an advocate to call for the "death traps" to be immediately fixed or removed."

It seems the true goal is to accept donations (free) and then turn around and sell the clothing?

So you build bins in a way that they are "one-way" doors, and only those with keys can remove the goods?

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#69

Post by pacija »

I wear my clothes and shoes almost until they disintegrate. Some of them are more than two decades old, still good. Harder to find quality stuff that lasts nowadays, but it is possible. Wear cotton and leather, avoid plastics. But then again I an very pretty, tall and slim, wearing old worn out black stuff gives me cool punk rocker / oldschool goth look. I know not everyone can pull this off :)

Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?

#70

Post by michaelgrafl »

Syonyk wrote: post #47
CPLX wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may come as a shock as I admit the extent of it surprised me as well, but the speed with which children change size soundly outstrips the lifetime of the average piece of clothing. And I’ve heard rumors that adults change size quite a bit as well. Sometimes they move from one place to another too.

> ...but the speed with which children change size soundly outstrips the lifetime of the average piece of clothing. So you swap clothing around to other parents who have younger kids, in exchange from clothing from people with older kids? There's a very solid ecosystem of clothing/shoes/etc moving around our church, and it's quite common to see someone wearing clothes that our kids used to wear, or seeing our kids we…

Unfortunately many parents pass on really shrill and tasteless clothes made from cheap synthetic fabric. If you care about esthetics and teaching your children about style and materials, trading clothes becomes much more difficult.

Flea markets turned out to be a much better source for fantastic old clothes, but require more time and at least some money.

However, with three children who inherit their older siblings clothes, many pieces don't survive the third iteration of wear and tear.

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