coats Archives - Chicago Textile Recycling

What Can I Become

June 25, 2020December 11, 2024

Last Summer, Chicago Textile Recycling did a series titled “What Can I Become” showcasing each week the possibilities of recycled textiles and what their next life might look like. We were inspired by the organization S.M.A.R.T.’s informative post with all the different potential outcomes of recycled textiles found here. Though textiles don’t always become these specific products once recycled, it reveals many important uses your recycled textiles can have and why it is vitally important to recycle old textiles rather than throwing them away.

The first use of a donated textile will always be attempted reuse and resale at a thrift/consignment store or sent to other countries for reuse. However for those items no longer in good or reusable condition, there are numerous ways each can be recycled. And in the following examples, the products are downcycled (read our blog here to learn more) and listed below:

Stuffed Toys & Pillows

Stuffed toys and pillows can become car seat stuffing and automobile insulation. So what happens to all those stuffed animals and pillows your children no longer love as they grow into preteens and teenagers? Sometimes they can be cleaned and resold at resale stores but for those in very used condition or poor condition, they can be recycled and become stuffing for car seats or insulation for automobiles. So when your kids outgrow their love of mickey mouse or pikachu, donate it to us and we will see that it finds another life elsewhere, either in another adoring fan’s arms or to keep you and your family safe while driving down the road.

T-Shirts, Sheets, Towels & Clothing

T-shirts, sheets, towels and clothing can become wiping rags. T-shirts and clothing in good or great condition are typically resold in stores or sent to other countries to provide clothing for the population there, but for t-shirts and clothing that is not salvageable for reuse, and for towels and sheets, many times it is recycled into wiping rags.

The parent company of Chicago Textile Recycling is Wipeco, Inc, which supplies janitorial products to a wide range of customers in the Midwest. The largest selling product at Wipeco is wiping rags, which are recycled from donated textiles collected from CTR bins around the Chicagoland area. Therefore, for our company, if not resold, the next best use of old t-shirts, sheets, towels and clothing is in fact to recycle them into wiping rags. We collect these from area bins and partner resale stores, as well as partnerships with local places of business.

Denim

Denim can become home insulation. For denim jeans, skirts, overalls and other products that are in good condition, they can be resold and reused. However for denim that is not in the best shape or stained or torn too much, it can be shredded and used as home insulation. This is a great way to keep denim out of landfills and give it another life in a different form that is beneficial for textile recycling and keeping your home warm.

Shoe Soles

Shoe soles can become paving material. When shoe soles contain fine rubber powder, they can be recycled as rubber granulate that then combines with a binder and goes into creating roads, running tracks, playground surfacing, railroad pads and more. Shoes are high in demand as a reuse and resale product, but for those that don’t make the cut, they can be used for paving material.

Sweaters & Coats

Sweaters and coats can become carpet padding. Similar to denim that is broken down and made into insulation, sweaters and coats that are no longer reusable can be downcycled into carpet padding. One of the three methods of recycling textiles we discuss on our website is breaking the textiles down into fiber content. This would be the case for making carpet padding from sweaters and coats. Carpet padding is another great way to keep textiles out of landfills and give them a new purpose and life.

Curtains & Drapes

Curtains and drapes can become stuffing for pillows, sleeping bags and animal beds. In the same way as products mentioned previously, curtains and drapes can be recycled into fiber content used to stuff those three products. For curtains and drapes in good condition, they can be cleaned and resold. But for those too stained and/or torn to be reused, they may end up as filling for new products that need a little fluff.

Wool Sweater & Materials

Wool sweaters and materials can become baseball and softball filling. Ever wonder what baseballs and softballs have on the inside giving them the density and weight to be used for sport? At the core is rubber or cork, which is then wrapped in wool and poly/cotton windings, with a cowhide exterior. For those wool sweaters and materials that are falling apart, donate them even if you don’t think they would be considered for reuse. They can become filling for America’s favorite sport.

Velvet Materials

Velvet materials can become jewelry box lining. Though velvet isn’t as popular a textile as it once was, you can still find it being used in various forms such as curtains, pants, furniture and blazers here and there. When no longer in need of your favorite velvety smooth textile, please donate it. If the item is not suitable for reuse, it can become box lining for your next jewelry purchase.

Leftover Fabric Scraps

Leftover fabric scraps can become paper money. As explained in this article, which sites the U.S. Treasury, American paper money is created from 75% cotton and 25% linen. Though pure cotton or linen textiles are much harder to come by these days, those scraps of textiles that are still produced can be used to make cash for your pocket.

Donate

Hopefully this informative blog post has informed and inspired you in your textile donations. It’s important to always remember to allow the resale workers or bin collectors to have the opportunity to make the call on what can be reused or recycled and for what purpose. Instead of deciding yourself and trashing textiles, donate all that you can in hopes of keeping the maximum amount of textiles out of landfills.

If you have questions or are looking for a bin/resale store, please contact us.

Programs

Where to Recycle Winter Wear

January 14, 2020January 13, 2020

The new year has arrived, and as you start to unpack all the accumulated gifts from their boxes and piles in a post-Holiday haze, take stock of new coats and scarves and hats and mittens and other wintry textiles you’ve received recently. As you unload the new, or the new to you, remember to clean out the old, the ill-fitting, the broken, the hole-y, and start a pile for the donation bin, or the resale store, but definitely not the trash can.

Here at Chicago Textile Recycling, we accept:

-coats

-jackets

-scarves

-hats

-mittens

The one wintry item we don’t accept is winter boots, but with all of these cold weather items, we encourage you to donate the gently used ones to local charities and organizations that help members of your community. And although we do accept these items, a large percentage of the items we receive are sent to individuals in warm-weather, developing countries so there is not a large need for these items. Because of this, we encourage you to first donate to those in need in our local communities and city that could reuse winter items to help keep themselves warm this winter.

“The Center for the Disease Control and Prevention reported that from 1999 to 2011, a total of 16,911 deaths in the United States, an average of 1,301 per year, were associated with exposure to excessive, natural cold.”

Why Donate? – Winter is a Time of Need

Many families and individuals in our country struggle year round with bills, rent, and many other needs. Winter compounds all of these by adding the physical need to stay warm, including clothing and heat for your home. Those who sleep outside in the cold have an even harder time as they “face the risk of dehydration, frostbite, and/or hypothermia.” When pulling together donations of winter-related items, whatever they may be, please take the time to reach out to those who could really use these items, such as coat drives and other places described below.

Another population in great need during winter is children.

“41% of all [American] children are living in low-income households.”

The struggle is more ongoing with children because they outgrow boots and coats and jackets so quickly. Children are constantly in need of larger sizes in coats, jackets, mittens and boots. With winter already presenting a strain on low-income families to simply keep the heat on, an easy way to help those families in need would be providing new and gently used coats and other cold weather items.

So the question is, “How can I help?” Here are a few local places you can send your winter item donations:

Where to Donate – Coat Drives and Resale Stores

Both resale stores and coat drives are great options for donating winter items. Although many coat drives are run during the final weeks of Autumn, some have longer periods of collection and would love to have your donations in the new year.

Coat Drives

Salvation Army Chicago Bears Coat Drive is running from November 11th to February 28th. Partnered by Jewel-Osco, Salvation Army, and the Chicago Bears, this coat drive accepts new and gently used coats in Chicago and its suburbs to give to those in need this Winter. You can drop off donations at any Jewel-Osco location in the Chicagoland area. Read here for more information.

Button & Zipper is another local charity that disperses new and gently used coats to local Chicago homeless adults and at-risk youth. There are numerous collection sites at different companies in the Chicagoland area and their collection runs until February 28th also. Read here for more information.

Other places you can donate wintry items such as coats, scarves, hats, mittens, and boots are local homeless shelters or women’s shelters.

Host Your Own Coat Drive

Know of an area in need of coats and other winter items and feeling inspired to make a difference in your own community? You can partner with One Warm Coat, a national non-profit in setting up your own Winter Clothing Drive. Simply choose a local nonprofit in need to donate the items you collect. Read more about the process here. One Warm Coat provides free tools and resources to advertise your winter clothing drive.

Resale Stores

Resale stores are another great option for donating the winter items you no longer need or use. Local resale stores that serve your local community are especially important to choose as donations then go back into serving members of your own community either through work with local nonprofits and charities or at least providing affordable clothing to community members. Many of our partner stores are great options for this very reason, so feel free to contact us for information about stores we work with that serve their communities.

Where to Donate…Winter Boots

Although Chicago Textile Recycling bins are unable to accept winter boots, most resale stores will take them and resell them in store. You can drop them off with other winter items and textiles, which will provide low income families with an inexpensive way to shop for the wintry season.

Care for Real is a Chicago-based organization that serves low income families and persons in Chicago. They are always accepting donations of food, clothing, and personal care items. Winter coats, hats, scarves, shoes and boots were all listed under items in need for the clients they serve. Read more here.

And lastly, another great option is to donate shoes and boots to Share Your Soles, a local nonprofit that accepts new and gently used shoes and boots to give to those in need. They have numerous locations in the Chicagoland area accepting donations. Their goal is to provide shoes to those in greatest need of them around the world. These shoes are given away to recipients who may have never owned a pair of shoes. You can read more of the story behind the organization here.

Spread Warmth this Winter

Regardless of which of these great places you choose to share your winter wear, always remember to donate textiles you no longer wear and do not throw them away. We can share some winter warmth with our fellow neighbors in this small, simple way and keep the spirit of giving on into the new year.

(If you know of other organizations accepting gently used winter textiles and boots, please reach out to us on our facebook page so we can help get the word out.)

Statistics found here and here