You wouldn’t think that clothing in landfills are a big problem in the United States but in reality, it is a serious issue that deserves much more attention than it currently gets. In 2006, more than 2.5 billion pounds of fabric were kept from American landfills by used clothing companies and charitable organizations. Though it is wonderful that the fabric was removed from the landfills, the fact that so much fabric, almost all of which is recyclable, is thrown away every year gives one pause on how we discard our lightly used clothing.
Clothing donations do more than cloth the nation’s poor and homeless. There are about 600,000 homeless men, women, and children in the U.S. according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and clothing donations go a long way in helping families in need.
However, donating clothes to charity achieve another purpose: the reusing of recyclable fabrics and household textiles. Far too much of perfectly useable fabrics are thrown away every year. Used clothing and textiles make up about 5% of the total garbage found in American landfills. Sadly, 90% of these textiles is recyclable. Clothing donations for non profit organizations not only help the poor, they help the environment.
There are over 1.5 million tax-exempt charitable organizations in the U.S. and they all do amazing work for their respective causes. For charities that focus on clothing donations, they are able to achieve far more than their ostensive objective. They help people and the environment that they live in.
Some charities are so dedicated to collecting used clothing that they will go as far as picking up donations directly from your house! Donating clothes has never been easier — or, honestly, needed.
Please consider donating your unused clothing and used toys today. For more information on how to do so, feel free to leave a comment or question at the bottom.
