children Archives - Chicago Textile Recycling

Back to School

August 18, 2022

The time has come…that time of year when children ages five to eighteen, and sometimes younger and many times older, are making preparations to return to school. For some this is full of worries: Who will my new teacher be? Will I like him/her? Will I have friends in my new class? And for many this is full of excitement: I can’t wait! I get to see all of my friends again. Mommy/Daddy/Grandma always takes me back to school shopping. Whatever your children may be feeling as school approaches and these first few weeks of school begin, we are wishing each of you a great year. And as you head to the stores for back to school shopping and return home to reevaluate dressers and closets and stand amazed by how tall your child has grown over a few short summer months, we are here for all of your “no longer fits or too worn out” needs.

My! How You’ve Grown!

The days are long and the years are short, and children never stop growing it seems. Especially as the seasons change and your children start wearing pants and long sleeves, it becomes quickly apparent just how much they have grown. Chicago Textile Recycling accepts all children’s clothing and shoes, even those that are stained, torn and very worn. Here is a list of our acceptable items and the following are some categories to sift through as you reassess what still fits.

Pants and Shorts

Just like in our blog on Spring Cleaning, it’s important to have lists or categories of what to go through as you are cleaning out. The first textile it seems children outgrow are pants. Seemingly overnight they can grow another inch no longer fitting their entire wardrobe of pants. Similarly shorts can go from fitting at an appropriate length to being too short or too tight as waists expand likewise.

Shirts

In similar fashion to pants, long sleeved shirts is another category that can change overnight. As arms lengthen, sleeves that once fit down to the wrist can a day later be much shorter. T-shirts also can quickly go from hip-length to midriff proportions, necessitating a trip to the donation pile.

Pajamas

Closely related to pants and shirts, pajamas too can grow shorter and tighter over years, or even months. One big growth spurt can lead to an entire collection of pajamas no longer fitting. Back to school is a good time to sift through as seasons also change around this time and little ones will move from pajama shorts to pants and even fleece or flannel.

Underwear and Swimsuits

Another category to clean out is underwear and swimsuits. As bodies grow bigger and longer, these textiles can grow tighter and shorter, deeming them inappropriate to wear. As children move out of swim season and into Autumn as they start school, it is a good time to go through swimsuits and see what can be donated to those in need.

Socks and Shoes

Bodies grow in length and waists grow in circumference, and feet grow as well through the years. Back to school is a great time to reassess what size feet your children have. Typical of back to school shopping, new shoes are oftentimes purchased to complete the look so knowing what size feet your little ones have is necessary. When they size up, make sure to go through shoes and socks and donate any of these that no longer fit.

Outerwear

The last category to clean out is outerwear. Jackets and coats, hats, gloves, snow bibs and scarves, these items typically only last a few years at best as bodies change and grow. Quicker than we realize, soon after school begins, temperatures will cool and many of these will be needed. As you sift through other clothes and shoes, make sure to look through these items too so that you know what you need for the Fall and Winter ahead.

Back to School Shopping

After we clean out all of the ill-fitting and worn out textiles, it is time to get ready for the school year ahead. For many this means heading to malls or stand alone stores for new item purchases. However, this could also mean thrift shopping and consignment sales for barely worn and new to you purchases. If your children have grown a complete size up in shoes or clothing, buying everything new will likely require more than your budget will allow. At Chicago Textile Recycling, we strongly encourage donating textiles AND buying gently used textiles when in need of clothing and shoes. This cuts down on textile waste and environmental harm from creating so many new items. Read more at our blog here on why donating textiles and buying used is important.

As you complete your cleanout of children’s clothing and shoes for the new school year, please contact us to locate your nearest donation bin or partner resale store. And HAVE A GREAT YEAR!

Recycling

Children’s Books on Textile Recycling

October 6, 2021

We love to educate our readers about the importance of textile recycling. And we know that our readers include all different races, ethnicities, genders, etc. Our readers also come from different family sizes, from single adults to heads of households of multiple children. For those that know kids, have kids, are aunts and uncles to kids, teach kids or just love kids, this post is for you. To fulfill this part of our mission of educating readers, we would love to share children’s books we have come across that teach kids about textile recycling and understanding textiles.

Jordan and the Magic Cape

Fifteen students in Simon Fraser University’s Make Change Studio Program created a book titled “Jordan and the Magic Cape” to teach kids about textile sustainability. The main character Jordan owns a beloved cape that becomes damaged. After Jordan is told to throw it away, the cape comes to life and tells Jordan that they are not finished having adventures together. Jordan then learns about different fabrics that can restore the powers of the cape.

Where Did My Clothes Come From?

Written by Chris Butterworth, this book explains how and where different fabrics are made. From jeans being made from cotton plants to sweaters being made from sheep’s wool to a party dress made from silk worms, this book goes semi in-depth in a kid friendly way to help kids understand the process of creating textiles. Other fabrics include chemical synthetics, fleece made from recycled plastic bottles, and boots made from rubber trees. The last few pages are dedicated to recycling facts and the importance of textile recycling.

My Panda Sweater

In this book by Gilles Baum, a little girl loves to wear her panda sweater. When she grows too big for it, she donates it so someone else might use it. A new child joins her class one day, and the child is wearing the panda sweater. She befriends the new classmate and they dance together, not caring what other kids may think. This book will inspire kids to share clothes they have outgrown with other kids in need.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Simms Taback wrote this story about a man with an overcoat that was old and worn. Joseph created a jacket from the coat, which then became old and worn. He then made a vest, scarf, tie, handkerchief and button, until finally he lost the button. Inspired by a Yiddish folk song, titled, “I Had a Little Overcoat,” the author created this book to teach about using textiles to their end of life.

Something from Nothing

A very similar book is “Something from Nothing” by Phoebe Gilman about a little boy whose grandfather made him a blanket, which after becoming worn, became a jacket, vest, tie, etc. The illustrations in this book also depict a mouse family living under the floorboards that take the scraps from this blanket as the grandfather cuts it down into different items and uses the scraps for bedding, rugs, curtains and clothes.

I Had a Favorite Dress

Another book with a similar plot is “I Had a Favorite Dress” by Boni Ashburn. Similar to the previous books, it is about a little girl who has a favorite dress, which she outgrows. Her mom then sews it into a shirt, tank top, skirt, scarf, socks, and then hairbow. After the hairbow becomes too tattered, her daughter makes the little pieces of the hairbow into a picture that she can hang up and remember her favorite dress. Each of these books promote the idea of respecting and taking care of our clothes rather than treating them as disposable items to misuse and trash.

New Old Shoes

Charlotte Blessing wrote this book about the lifespan of a pair of shoes. The shoes begin their journey sitting on the shelf brand new at a store and are soon bought for a child to wear and play. Later donated, the shoes were then shipped overseas as a used textile, sold in the market and worn by two more children until they grew no longer functional. This book raises the importance of donating old shoes and wearing them out to their end of life. It shows that rather than sending old items to a landfill, they can find use and have even a second and third life with donation.

Next Generation

In addition to sharing with our readers about consequences of throwing away textiles, where to donate old textiles, and different programs around our world making headway toward a circular economy in textiles, we also desire to create this love of caring for our planet in the next generation. Caring for our planet and ensuring its health in the years to come necessitates the education of our children on the importance of doing our part. Education through age-appropriate books, recycling textiles, pushing for a circular textile economy, cleaning our parks and oceans, buying more sustainably, and composting are a few of the many ways we can keep our planet beautiful and thriving for future generations.