“A new survey of 2,000 Americans revealed that 62 percent worry that a lack of knowledge is causing them to recycle incorrectly.” (Read more here)

Chicago Textile Recycling is committed to reduce textiles in landfills, and educate our readers on the problems of fast fashion and ways to reduce waste when it comes to the textiles we own. Though this survey may have been more about recycling in general, we know that there is a lot of misinformation out there, so our aim is to educate readers around ways each of us can do our part in keeping textiles out of landfills and disposing of them properly.

What Can and Cannot be Recycled

“Twenty-two percent of respondents report not having enough information regarding recycling and 18 percent admit they don’t understand what can and can’t be recycled.”

Though each resale store and bin may differ in what they do and do not allow in their bins or at their donation sites, we have created this flyer at CTR to try and make it clear the items we do and do not accept. If you have questions about items not on this list, please reach out via this form.

Many big name resale stores, and some smaller resale stores, accept torn and stained and other imperfect items as well. These stores work with recyclers such as CTR and sell their items in bulk to be sold to other secondhand markets, downcycled into wiping rags, insulation, or other ends.

Helpful Tips

In addition to this list of accepted and unaccepted items, here are a few helpful tips as you gather up items to recycle:

Bag Donations

If you are bringing donations to our bins, they should be in bags easily able to fit into our bins. Boxes are likely too bulky and not malleable enough to fit into the opening, so it is best to use garbage bags when compiling your donation at home. If you are bringing donations to a thrift store, boxes would work as well as bags.

Torn or Stained Items

Here at Chicago Textile Recycling, we DO accept torn and stained items. Although mended and unstained items have higher resale/recycling value and are preferable, we will accept those with rips and stains as long as they are not severely damaged.

Wet or Smelly Items

Lastly, we cannot accept textiles and donations that are wet or smelly. Please clean and dry your items before bagging them for donation. Items that are wet or smelly and anything around those items will most likely need to be moved to the trash.

Unaccepted Items

Chicago Textile Recycling accepts textiles and shoes primarily. We do not accept items such as movies, books, dishes, furniture, etc. However, these items can still be donated so please do not put them in the trash. Many resale/thrift stores accept used items such as these. We have written this blog to point our readers to other places that do accept some of our unaccepted items.

Other Questions

We hope this reminder of recycling basics was helpful. We know there can be quite a bit of misinformation and confusion out there, so if you have any questions not covered in this blog, please reach out to us and we would be happy to answer what we can.