You can ‘Threadcycle’ instead of throwing out clothing & other textiles that are more than ‘gently used’

Seattle Public Utilities and King County are teaming up to announce “Threadcycle,” a new campaign to make sure you know that you can recycle more old clothing/textiles than you probably think you can. The official announcement points out that the average person in the U.S. throws away 70 pounds of used clothing/textiles each year, and that 95 percent of that could have been recycled. Right now, in fact, the announcement says, the recycling market for textiles is strong. So the city and county are partnering with eight organizations to get the word out NOT to throw away the items you don’t think can be donated. Find the organizations listed – along with drop sites – here.

sam-c February 25, 2015 (3:58 pm)

I got excited about this, until I checked the link to find the drop sites. I know about donating clothes to Goodwill and others, but what do you do with clothes that are not in good enough condition to donate? ie, stains, rips, etc.

That’s the clothing that I put in the trash can.

Is this campaign saying that you should donate the stained and ripped clothes too? I guess I am confused.

WSB February 25, 2015 (4:05 pm)

Yes, it is. That’s exactly what they’re saying – most people only think they can donate the stuff that’s in good condition but their partners here, including NW Center and Goodwill (both of which have West Seattle drop sites), will take stuff that’s in worse shape. The only type of thing they DON’T want is described here:
.
http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/ecoconsumer/threadcycle-learn-more.asp

sam-c February 25, 2015 (4:13 pm)

cool!

pupsarebest February 25, 2015 (8:12 pm)

Really great news, I hope it spreads like wildfire!
Thank you for sharing it with the community.

KM February 25, 2015 (9:56 pm)

Love textile recycling! Let’s get the word out.

NorDel February 26, 2015 (6:20 am)

I saw a piece on King5 yesterday. It was neat!

They showed a pair of jeans that looked like someone cut out squares from the front and then took out the seams. They said they will be recycled into insulation for buildings/homes.

They also showed a white tshirt with yellow pit stains that will be recycled into rags by another company.

It was cool!

Stacy Nass February 26, 2015 (8:30 am)

The Sneakery will take your old worn out shoes. They donate them to recycle the rubber.

Lindsey February 26, 2015 (9:04 am)

Great news! I am prepping for our big community garage sale day and really thought that donating unusable items to goodwill only created more trouble for them. I’m happy to find out I’m wrong!