Recycling Clothes

On Thursday in Micro, one of my honors students gave her presentation on the apparel industry. One thing she said struck me. She pointed out that we don't generally wear clothes out, they just become obsolete. By obsolete, she meant that styles go out of fashion and we quit wearing them.

Being an engineer by training I don't notice fashion a whole lot (even though one of my girls went to FIDM.) However, the comment stuck with me and hit me again when I read the story in the Republic about competition for donated used clothing.

Competition for donated used clothes and unwanted household items has become so vicious across the Valley that local charities report their collection bins are being bolted shut, vandalized and even towed away.

An intensifying turf war between non-profits and for-profit clothing resellers is taking a big bite out of contributions to charities
like Valley Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Swift Charities for Children and Goodwill, officials from those groups say.

"There's a river of revenue that runs through this Valley, and it's made of people's secondhand clothes and household items. People don't realize how valuable this stuff is," said Jim Stone, director of Swift Charities.

It's interesting that there is such a competitive market in recycling clothing.