Is recycling your old clothes worth it?

[Sian]

Is recycling your old clothes worth it?

Goodarticle on unexpected consequences of disposable fashion

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/e ... 985803.ece

I used to volunteer in a charity shop so I've seen this first hand. I think most people on here are beyond the 'recycling is the only R I need to care about' mindset, but more information on it is always good!

[red]

I used to volunteer at oxfam. part of their problem is they have a pricing policy - there is abook you have to look things up in, and price accordingly... and sometimes items are priced at higher than they sell for new (posh old lady volunteers with little idea that peacocks is so cheap).. so predictably don't sell at all.. then get bagged up for selling on (and being made into blankets). We threw a lot of stuff away too.. book etc that did not sell. made me wince.
the experience certainly was an eye opener. and such a waste.. this stuff at a jumble sale would go.. if only for 5p, but instead they are thrown out or sold for too much money.
I'm lucky in that my local charity shop sells stuff for a lot less.

In my house I recycle kids clothes via the charity shop, as kids grow out of things before they are worn out and there is no convenient kid in my family of the right size to receive hand me downs.
our own clothes we wear complete out, these days. Then I recycle the material, I make things like cusion covers, hoard material for 'one day', unwind wool, remake clothes into something else (jeans into shorts) patch, and when its completely had it, cut for my rag rug making plans, or simply cut into rags.
but then, Im not exactly fashionable.. so the last year's look thing is just not an issue for me

[Sian]

I was at the YMCA-it was an eye opener for me too on how much waste actually went on there-very similar to what Red says^^ It drives me mad the way my local Oxfam prices a top from New Look at over a fiver when that's what it probably cost brand new. They should definitely try to sell things for 5p etc before chucking-or give to charity shops in poorer areas/with more room that sell things for less.

I'm fairly into my clothes but in a style rather than fashion way-so they all last my tastes, all worn out before I can give them away, though the odd thing might shrink in the wash (or have I just got bigger?!) and will go to my sister/charity shops. I want to get more crafty, but tbh I am a bit lazy on that front-have a scarf I'm halfway through knitting that I started 2 years ago! I would like to try a sewing machine though. But I do use worn out pyjama legs etc for cleaning rags etc.

[Urban Ayisha]

is it unrealistic for me to presume charity shops recycle what is not sellable (clothes or not) when i give it to them? like do they recycle books or just chuck in the normal rubbish? i know there are clothes 'banks' for recycling but since there is not one around a large radius of me and i dont drive, its not really a practical option for me. and is that the only option for textile recycling? the shoddy market?
i studied fashion at london college of fashion (and hated it) and remember when i first learnt that synthetic fibres never decomposed, i had this really depressing vision of cheap, nasty, market-quality day-glo boob tubes and shell suits forever existing on this planet on some sad landfill somewhere! now i suppose it will be a lot more commonplace with shops like primark and peacocks selling cheap throwaway clothes.

[hamster]

I used to work in an Oxfam bookshop and anything that didn't sell or wasn't likely to sell first went to a bigger central place that would sort things and send them to other shops if it was thought they might sell there, and if it was utter tripe or in too bad condition then they would go and get pulped and made into shiny new books.

I don't know about clothes, though you could probably ask if they send them to a textile bank as they are bound to get loads of stuff they can't sell.

[contadina]

Charity shops are not a big thing in Italy. Apparently, there are some but not in my region. Most markets, however, have a dedicated second had section where stalls piled high with jumpers, dresses, shoes, bedding, curtains, bags etc.

The quality of most of the items on sale is generally high and the prices are cheap. My husband and I bought our entire winter wardrobes last year for 10 euros each, this included a coat, jeans, skirt, three jumpers and a blouse for me and several jumpers, sweatshirts and a Tom Good cardy for him. While these stall holders are obviously selling items for profit, they certainly seem to have a better understanding about quality and what people want to wear.

[the.fee.fairy]

I agree with the fact that a lot of charity shops are overpriced!!

For example: I collect Enid Blyton books. Obviously, i like a nice first edition with dust jacket, but most of the time, i buy ones that i haven't got yet. Certain publishers printed so many of the books that they're not worth more than 50p each now. I can't count the amount of times i've been to buy a book (ordinary condition, not first edition etc) and been told its over £2 because 'oooh, its at least 20 years old'...its not worth that, but someone's made a stupid decision! Most of the time i laugh and then put the book back.

I was really annoyed the other day, I took 2 bin bags full of clothes and books to a local charity shop, and they were redecorating. They took the donations gratefully. When i went out the back, they had a skip with some teddy bears and a rag doll in it. I asked if they were bwing stored out of the way and was told that no, they were going to the dump. So i offered a donation for them and she wouldn't take anything!

When i got the bears and the ragdoll home, i saw the prices. They were all well over-priced.

I don't know why they can't have a policy that says 'after a week/fortnight/month on the shelf, they go to a different part that's donation only. If you've got 10p and you particularly want a skirt, we'll take the 10p if its not sold within an allotted time'.

Seems more sensible than throwing things out if you ask me...

[MKG]

I've suspected for a long time now that the Oxfam shops had some strange kind of pricing policy - this thread confirms it. I'm a book fanatic myself, and Retford (my nearest town with a civilisation) is blessed with a half-dozen charity shops. My choice is clear - I now avoid Oxfam and visit the others, where I get twice the amount for my money. Okay, it's charity - but there's an obvious difference between advantageous and exorbitant charity. And yes - Fee's right - somehow, Oxfam have managed to get themselves totally confused between "old" and "valuable".

[Brod]

We're not the only ones who have noticed the stupidity and up-marketing of prices in charity shops (especially OXFAM)
See this thread over at INEBG
http://www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.org/for ... hp?t=13485

[citizentwiglet]

I've come across some very bizarre pricing structures in some of the shops run by the larger charities, too. Not to mention pickiness....I took a load of babyclothes (in my pre-Freecycle days) to the local Cancer Research shop and they told me to bugger off, 'people don't want to dress their kids in second-hand clothes'. (I think Freecycle has disproved that attitude somewhat...certainly here, the bags of children's clothes disappear within minutes).

I took the bags down to the local Hospice shop, who were absolutely thrilled with them, I popped in a week later and most of them had been sold - what was left was VERY reasonably priced - 25p for babygros that had only been worn a couple of times, 50p for dungarees, etc. My local Oxfam was selling Babygros for £2.00 each - I think you can get a pack of 5 new in T***o for about a fiver!

I buy a lot of second-hand clothes. Well, not a lot, but more than I buy new; but I tend to look at the smaller charities. As for donating, I'm afraid I ignore the bags that get stuffed through the door, as I'm never 100% sure whether they're headed for the charity or for the local Car Boot sale - I tend to give my own clothes and some of Ellis' stuff away to the local Shelter hostel or Women's Aid refuge these days.

[AXJ]

I undertand that many collections for clothes to send overseas are organised by private companies who pay a charity for the use of a 'charity' brand, collect the clothes, ship them to the developing countries and sell them cheaply, but obviously making a profit. This is an economic disaster for local texiles / clothing industries, most of which are small business or cottage industries. A sad paradox.

[red]

the bags through the door for charity really really annoy me

for a start.. someone is posting plastic bags through my door! - I put them out on the doorstep on the appointed day, but the collectors only take the full bags!! so I am left with a plastic bag grrrr

and when you read the small print.. although they are for charity.. the people collecting get paid for how much they collect.. they are doing it for money.. not for charity.

[Ratty]

If plastic bags for 'charity' are posted through our door then they go straight into the plastic bag recycling stash which gets dropped off at Sainsburys when we do a shop. Those collection bags are a scam.

I do put quite a lot of clothes into the Planet Aid clothes collection bins and I'm dismayed to think how they might be being used.

I've successfully used Efreeko online in the past - bit like Freecycle but mainly for clothes and people pay you postage for items.

Its many years since I worked for Oxfam shop, run by batty old ladies mainly. But I'd be very interested in volunteering again to see what on earth is happening!

Ratty

[ocailleagh]

Oxfam are quite expensive, its true. But our local hospice-run charity shop is outrageously priced! I have had a few bargains from there to be fair but, they usually make Oxfam look like Scope for prices! I recently saw a book in there on woodcarving and carpentry techniques, a fairly large hardback that would've cost around £2-£2.50 in Oxfam, priced at £5!!
On the subject of charity shop books, why is it that they're always well stocked with flower-arranging books? Its the one thing you can guarantee you'll find on the shelves. That and 'Somebody, Somewhere' by Robbie Williams....

[Flo]

I suspect that the quality of goods in the charity shops reflects the trend of quality in new goods. Too much Primark and TK Maxx and not enough M&S now that Littlewoods/C&A are no longer on the high street.