Anybody know what to do with old clothes, not good enough to be sold at charity shops?

Question

some soft things, i cut and use for dusters etc, but i just don't have a clue what to do with other stuff thats ripped, stained or just worn out. Nobody around here seems to have a recycle bin for this type of thing (uk i am meaning). Advice really appreciated

Answer 1

As a teenager I collected clothing to be made into shoddy, creating relatively new clothing, things like felt. I made good money doing it.

Then came fibre blended fabrics. Those were basically not recyclable via shoddy. But with their appearance we lost the ability to process even pure fibres into shoddy. We could not readily recognize blended fabrics.

No, we have largely lost the ability to recycle.

Get as much use as we can from the fabric, perhaps use it directly for cleaning rags. But unless we return to using pure (one fibre) fabrics we have no simple path for recycling.

We even find towels made from cotton waste unusable because it was once treated for stain resistance.

Answer 2

I recently asked my local charity shop if they could make use of some duvet covers that weren't in good enough condition to sell but I didn't want to throw them away. I was told that any garments not fit for resale were collected and taken for recycling with the shop being paid for the amount taken.

So maybe the charity shop is the best place after all!

Answer 3

One of the advantages of buying natural fibre clothes is that they can be reused when past the wear by date.  

I tend to use my old clothes for cleaning my bicycle, in the garden, around the home, or any other such dirty/greasy jobs, when I don't want to ruin dusters and other cleaning cloths, they're OK for cleaning the bath/shower too.

I used the body of one old tee shirt to make a kneeler for use when weeding in the garden.  They'd also make good beds for small dogs and cats.

I'm sure I've seen a clothing recycle bin next to the bottles and paper at one of the local supermarket car parks.

Answer 4

You could make a rag rug, or maybe a reusable shopping bag.  http://www.rags-to-bags.com/used-recycle...

Answer 5

Put them in a bag and take them to the charity shop anyway. Most charity shops sell rags to be recycled into new cloth.

Answer 6

You could try a company called 'Bags 2 School' and another one which I can't remember the name of who make arrangements with schools to collect just this sort of thing and they pay the school by weight collected or you can go to the schools direct as I'm sure they would love to add weight to their collection.  I don't know how much of the uk they cover but there must be similatr schemes to this.  If you find a scheme in your area but can't find a local school running it it maybe because they aren't aware of it so contact the schools fundraising group as it is an easy and effective.  Bags 2 School run in the Derbyshire area.  if you don't have any joy let me know your area and I'll check with my local group. Good Luck

Answer 7

I keep em and use em for decorating

Answer 8

Many materials can be shredded and used as stuffing etc for other products.

Also, materials can be composted. For example, where I live (in Taiwan), recycled clothing often makes up the bulk of the compost used for mushroom production. I'm sorry though, I cannot find any suitable links to illustrate it.

Anyway, hope this gives you some ideas. :)

Answer 9

i suggest you giving it away to some one less fortunate like the homeless

Answer 10

you could recycle them in the many yahoo groups

i guess some one would gladley find some kind of use out of them

Answer 11

Please give Old Clothes to some poor Boys/Girls who are living in Orphange.

1. Give to poor or Needy

2.Use as Duster or use for cleaning purpose.

3.Spread all the old Clothes in Lengthy wise  and wrap all the clothes with Bed Sheets. Stich all with Machine or Hand sewing Machine. Now best Bed spread is ready. Put Good cloth for Cover. Now it is looking very Nice. You will wonder what a Idea of s.s.subbu from Baroda India.

[e-mail]

s.s.subbu

Answer 12

Hi i could do with clothes material ect for rag rug making and patchwork quilt making

Answer 13

most of the answers are good and I would agree with them

Answer 14

dont know where you live but lots of recycling points in the uk have a recycle bin for clothes.

Answer 15

I have a couple of thoughts..I have a friend that makes the most adorable rugs from rags.She tears the clothes into narrow strips , sews the strips together then crochets them into rugs.

Secondly, .look for small businesses that might be interested for them as rags.There is a small business located near me where disabled people take old clothes and package them  for rags.They learn lots of valuable skills from assembly line to marketing.It also allows the group home to be self funded.

Answer 16

Use them for dishrags, to mop the floors, dust the furniture, clean the woodwork, clean the outdoor garden items; dry off the dog after a bath;

the uses are endless.  I keep a bin with clean old rags in it.  When I wrap glass items for shipping, I wrap them finally withh an old cloth, over the bubble wrap or under the bubble wrap.  

Clean out the fridge and dry it thoroughly with an old rag.  

Anything you can use a paper towel for (which is bad for the environment) you can use an old rag for.  

Once a month I wash all the old rags that aren't completely used up and clean them, put them back in the bin for future use.

During cold and flu season, I keep a soft cloth ... small ... in my pocket to open doors with or pick up a cup or something someone else has touched who may have a cold.

Answer 17

Ask at the charity shops anyway. All the ones round my way get many more clothes than they can put out onto the racks, many are too worn to be saleable; people expect good quality from charity shops nowadays.

What they do is sell them to companies that have them collected  and then recover the fibres to be turned into paper or other products. (Surprisingly, best quality paper is made from old rags not wood pulp.)

So the charity shop still gets some money and they're recycled. Ask around, my local Salvation Army shop and hospice shop both do this.

Answer 18

recycle them, give to homeless people, and have a good Valentine's Day tomorrow.

Answer 19

A homeless shelter would probably be more than happy to take them off your hands as they probably still provide warmth and protection from the elements.

Answer 20

Phone a few of your local charity shops - we ended up having to get rid of a load of stuff like that and were told to bag it separately, but they would still take it as they could get money for 'rags'. I think it is sent to be chopped up and used for something. I think when people have jumble sales, the stuff that is left at the end of the day, which they cannot store goes the same way.

Answer 21

you could try making patchwork quilt or cushions,cut adult clothes down for childrens,make a rag rug,a hat just let your imagination run.

Answer 22

LOCAL COUNCIL USUALLY HAVE A SKIP??AT THE LOCAL TIP FOR THESE ITEMS

Answer 23

You can still donate rags to charity shops ! They sell no-good-clothes as rags and get quite good money per sack !

The people working in the shop might even give you a special plastic sack for your donation so that they don't have to sort them !

Answer 24

Burn them?

Answer 25

Rag rugs are quite good fun to make and are hard wearing when made from synthetics such as nylon and acrylics.

As noted above most charities recycle unsuitable clothes and get some money from them.

You can compost anything which is properly natural i.e. cotton, linen, wool, bamboo, etc. Tear things up a bit before adding to your compost and mix well with other ingredients.

This is an eco-friendly alternative to sending them to landfill!

Answer 26

You should ask your local charity shop if they are willing to accept them as they often get clothes that aren't any good for wearing and send them for recycling!

Or phone your local council and ask if they have a recycling scheme in operation. Ours has a skip at the local tip just for old clothes.

Answer 27

I vary between giving to the charity shops to sell on in rag weight and cutting them up for dish clothes, floor cloths and finally compost them. ( I do only wear natural fibres)

Answer 28

The Cancer Research shops don,t waste anything. If an item of clothing is not suitable for selling the sent it on for recycling I think so nothing is wasted : )

Answer 29

Ok---lets look at the big picture .

Charity shops ar there to raise funds for that particular organisations needs.

So----any "rags" that they find they are in possesion of, are, or should be, routed to a rag factory, where they are re-cycled into , say mops, or something similar.

Now, it is not the willing donars fault, that the charity shop is stuck with goods that are not saleable.

Its the organisation that is sadly lacking in----ORGANISATION !!!