For cotton, wouldn't it be fine to dump them in the ocean?
What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
101–110 of 181 posts
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#102Wear them down, then we make mops/rags to clean the house with them!
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#103> 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…
Totally agree with this.
The challenge I have though is that I don’t know what I will end up wearing loads. If I buy multiples the I risk over buying and creating waste. If I buy one I risk it being discontinued. I try to buy quality so that the chance of resale (not landfill) is higher.
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#104Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#105I 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.
I'm honestly not sure it is a good idea to use really old clothes for quilting. The fabric ages and becomes thinner and thinner, and a quilt is a lot of work. Do you want to produce a quilt out of already weak material?
Historically, quilts were exactly how one used clothes too old and too worn to continue as clothes. One takes the less worn parts and makes a quilt with those.
For example, this fact plays an important part in Alice Walkers's short story, "Everyday Use"
https://www.lonestar.edu/13778.htm
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These quilts were “pieced by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee “(76), both figures in family history who, unlike the present Dee, took charge in teaching their culture and heritage to their offspring. The quilts themselves are made up of fragments of history, of scraps of dresses, shirts, and uniforms, each of which represents those people who forged the family’s culture, its heritage, and its values. Most importantly, however, these fragments of the past are not simply representations in the sense of art objects; they are not removed from daily life. What is most crucial about these quilts—and what Dee does not understand—is that they are made up of daily life, from materials that were lived in.
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
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... […
7x? I probably have too many clothes - we cull some every year or so, but my wife gets me a couple new things so it almost evens out. But probably half of what I wear in rotation is at least 3-4 years old, and some items closer to 10. I have a few items from 20 years ago, but I don't fit those so well any more (but keep for sentimental issues). That 'rotation' means I wear most of these shirts and pants 20-30x per ye…
I actively try to avoid fashion trends and instead buy nice clothes that are difficult to place in time… anything that would look normal in a movie from 50 years ago and 2 years ago is ideal. This ensures that I won’t feel social pressure to replace it before it’s even 5 years old.
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who is often doing outdoor activities and sports in a very hot, humid area I can't find a good alternative to plastics for clothing. But they last a long time. I have a lot of synthetic workout clothing well over a decade old. I guess not nearly as long as you. :)
Merino wool is great for this.
in the heat, I wouldn't want thick merino wool on. and in my experience, any thin thread 100 ones don't last that long even when babied. I do like thicker ones for the winter as base layers though
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#108One option is to sell them on a marketplace like https://www.grailed.com or even just buy your clothes there in the first place to reduce buying brand new. Its cheaper and honestly you might become a bit more stylish in the process.
For garments you can't sell like underwear you could also look into recycling them through places like https://knickey.com/pages/recycle
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#109> 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…
I only really buy clothes as needed when I've lost them to wear, but what frustrates me is when that wear is seemingly just washing. Cotton polo shirts seem to shrink like anything; I'm only washing at 30 degC. Something about the looser weave? Cotton shirts last far longer, and I lose them to collar/cuff wear, not shrinkage.
(I do actually have some a few collars and shirts which take detachable collars, before someone points out that's the classic, perhaps bygone solution, but I'm not sure anyone can manage to do that every modern day without drawing attention to it. Nor whether I could be bothered anyway to be honest - not like I have 'a man' to help with it!)
In fact I noticed the shirt I'm wearing today has a too-worn collar, so it's 'reuse' for it now - trouble is the rags pile grows faster than it's used.
Re: What are you supposed to do with old clothes?
#110> 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…
I only really buy clothes as needed when I've lost them to wear, but what frustrates me is when that wear is seemingly just washing. Cotton polo shirts seem to shrink like anything; I'm only washing at 30 degC. Something about the looser weave? Cotton shirts last far longer, and I lose them to collar/cuff wear, not shrinkage. (I do actually have some a few collars and shirts which take detachable collars, before some…
Clothing shrinkage typically comes from the dryer, not the washer.