Give Your Old Clothes New Life

DO NOT DONATE TO NATIONAL CHARITIES before flowing through this list first! National chains often take perfectly good donations, even great quality and designer pieces, and bale them up to ship to West Africa and other nations, where they form mountains of trash on the beaches. Goodwill is notorious for this practice. It’s not only a scam on donors with good intentions, it’s an environmental disaster and waste colonialism.

Fortunately, there are better options you can plan for and have fun with that do lead to better outcomes. Sometimes it helps to have a plan before you even start clearing out your closet, as knowing where your items will go and that they will become more useful and valued in their next life can aid in letting go.

Whether you’ve already started asking yourself the questions to pare down your closet, are planning to do so, or already have a pile with no home, here are some socially conscious ways to give any piece a new life.

1. Fix It

Super simple but extremely often overlooked, fixing your clothes, shoes, and purses could be the key to getting them back into rotation. Do you have pieces you don’t wear because the zipper broke, a hem snagged, or a seam ripped? Maybe they’re just a little too tight or too short? Fixing is an easy fix – and costs far less than buying a new or used replacement.

2. Sell or Gift It

If your item is in awesome condition and you believe it would make someone else happy as-is (or with a small fix!), consider putting it for sale on a resale or consignment site, taking it to a consignment or second-hand store to sell, getting space in a flea market, or gifting it to a friend or family member who would be excited to have it. 

3. Swap It

Swap your item with an item someone else has! This is good for items that didn’t sell for a while or you don’t want or know how to fix, or simply for trading something you don’t like as much for something you will use and value. 

Swaps can be person-to-person, among friends, communities, or organizations (like church groups), or open to the public in the form of swap meets.

Quality has less importance in this case as what you or someone else values can be subjective. Do consider whether the item has useful life left in its current form, however, as you will be more successful finding a swap that way. 

Harsh truth about swap meets: Bringing junk to a swap or exchange is basically a donation, which (as mentioned) is problematic. Your old stained T-shirt probably isn’t what people are going to the exchange to find, so please don’t talk yourself into bringing it because “someone may want a T-shirt to paint in”.

4. Repurpose It

Repurposing is taking a thing in its current form and using it for something else.

A little over a year ago, I had a macrame purse that I never used because the netting was too big and everything stuck out or fell out. But it made a great plant holder! This is repurposing an item, aka, giving it a new use. Many of us have done this by turning worn-out socks into cleaning rags.

5. Upcycle It

Upcycling is essentially using the piece as the basis to make something new. For instance, I had an old, ripped poncho that was very soft and pretty so it was difficult to part with. After a few choice cuts and sewing in some elastic, I made it into a chair cover!

6. Donate It Locally

Recycle or trash your items before donating to Goodwill or the like (seriously).

All that said, if there’s a local charity or cause that sells donated items, and your pieces are in good enough condition, donate them locally! Just make sure the unsold items won’t be donated nationally, or see if you can volunteer to recycle or hold a swap meet for what doesn’t sell.

7. Recycle It

Recycling is my go-to for clothes that are too damaged, worn, or destroyed to be fixed, upcycled, sold, and/ or swapped. I’ve also learned to put clothes into recycling that just won’t sell and that no one selects at swaps or even wants for free. While it shouldn’t be an immediate go-to for perfectly good and/ or designer/ high-end repairable pieces, if other options are exhausted, recycling is better than donations or landfill.

Two great options for clothing recycling are For Days and Ridwell.