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Choose Consciously

May 20, 2021August 25, 2021

What does it mean to choose consciously? And why is it important? Here at Chicago Textile Recycling, we educate readers around and encourage textile recycling, but also want our readers to be mindful of the clothes and textiles they add to their closet when in need of purchasing new (to you) items.

“So what is a conscious closet? A conscious closet is a wardrobe built with greater intention and awareness of our clothes, where they come from, what they’re made out of, and why they matter.” (Cline, p 5)

Conscious closets are made up of timeless pieces, secondhand steals, vintage, and quality items. They are thoughtfully created with textile workers’ quality of life, textile sustainability and environmental repercussions in mind. They are all unique and reflect each of our personal styles.

Why Choose a Conscious Closet? Less is Best

“Less is a boon for the planet. It is the single most effective way we can reduce our fashion footprint. The vast majority of the clothing industry’s environmental toll happens while manufacturing new clothes, specifically in the process of turning fiber into fabrics.” (Cline, p 51)

Textile recycling helps keep clothing out of landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Buying sustainably reduces the environmental impact greatly, but as stated above, the very best way to help our planet is to simply buy less.

According to a study in 2018, Americans “have the second highest percentage of unworn clothes: 82 percent of their items never saw the light of day last year.” (Read more here)

If we are only utilizing 18% of the items in our closet, why do we continue to buy more?

“Our closets are meant to hold the beautiful things that we are excited to wear. But they’ve been hijacked and turned into dark recesses for our impulse buys and fashion regrets, and clothes that we don’t like, that don’t work, that don’t fit, and that just need to go.” (Cline, p 15)

Fast fashion is part of the problem. The fashion industry changing trends not only every season, but nearly every week creates this desire to constantly purchase new trending items nearly every week. It is impossible to keep up and creates immense waste. But fast fashion is only part of the problem. There is also a responsibility the consumer needs to take to resist constantly purchasing new pieces. One idea Cline gives in her book is taking a “fashion fast”.

A fashion fast is a “full and intentional break from buying new clothes and the perfect way to kick off the Art of Less.” (Cline, p 53) During the fast, you can: tackle wardrobe repairs, shop your closet, and/or take a capsule wardrobe challenge. (p 55)

A Capsule Wardrobe

One of the ideas Elizabeth Cline gives in her book is creating a capsule wardrobe. This idea has been put to use in numerous fashion blogs, and similar to the idea of a 30 day, 30 items challenge mentioned here but more permanent. “A capsule wardrobe is a small, perfectly planned-out, tightly edited wardrobe of versatile clothes. It’s a wardrobe distilled to its essence, with no extraneous pieces…What defines a capsule wardrobe is not its smallness but the versatility and intentionality of its contents.” (p 102)

Cline discusses further how to create a capsule wardrobe for your personal fashion style and how it is something that can be formed and modified over the years. Put simply, it begins with cleaning out your closet, choosing primarily pieces that can work with many different items in your wardrobe. And then moving forward, pursuing sustainable, or secondhand/vintage pieces to add in. It is about being intentional with what you own, and showing respect to your clothes, even the less quality pieces, taking time to mend and later recycle them.

Choose Quality over Quantity

In addition to constantly changing trends, fast fashion has also reduced the quality of textiles in their pursuit of making the most clothing for the lowest price. Though many companies have pledged to increase wages and conditions for their workers and produce clothing more sustainably, it continues to be a widespread problem. When purchasing new pieces for your closet, we encourage our readers to choose pieces from companies that are pursuing these positive changes.

“Good-quality clothing is good for the planet because it lasts. But quality also lasts because it’s so damn compelling. It’s that essence that draws you to a garment again and again.” (p 57)

At the end of the day, we want to feel good in what we wear. We want our clothes to fit well and to represent our personality and style. Why waste precious money and time buying textiles that sit in your closet for years unworn? We encourage each of you, dear readers, to choose consciously. Choose with intentionality. And please recycle your textiles.

Green Benefits

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do…

February 22, 2021

Have you ever heard the phrase “Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do or Do Without”? It is a popular phrase that became famous first during World War 1, made popular again during the Great Depression and then again during World War 2. Around the time the United States entered WW1, Calvin Coolidge is said to have created the phrase to encourage Americans to make do with shortages and rationing from the war. However, he “was quoted as saying ‘Eat it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or Do without”. The phrase was later changed to “Use it up.” (Read more history here)

So what exactly does this slogan mean? During these three periods of history, “those that were able to stay in their homes…embraced the ‘Victory Garden’ ideals and raised whatever food they could. There was no money for items such as shoes or clothing. Everything was used until it just couldn’t be used anymore.”

What did this look like? “People darned their socks when holes appeared; aluminum foil was cleaned and saved for reuse; worn-out soles on shoes were replaced with pieces of leather or cut from old tires.”

Though it is a slogan taken from incredibly hard times of American history, it can teach current generations a lot about taking care of the things we currently own and reducing the huge problem of waste by refusing to play a part in fast fashion and the widespread addiction to consumption.

Use It Up

The original phrase began with “Eat it up” and was later made more popular when it was changed to “Use it up.” How can we apply this phrase to our lives today?

Use what you already have on hand
Eat leftovers
Make something creative for dinner from remaining groceries or staples in the pantry
Burn candles to the very bottom
Squeeze out all of the toothpaste
Scrape condiment and peanut butter jars
Fill soap pumps with a small amount of water to push up the last of the soap
Reuse boxes and packaging

All of these ideas will help the things you consume last longer, save you money and reduce the waste going to landfills.

Wear It Out

The phrase “Wear it out” is particularly relevant for Chicago Textile Recycling in helping to keep textiles out of landfills. When the majority of the population continues to throw old textiles in the trash and fast fashion pushes consumers to buy more and more clothing that they don’t need, wear it out is a directive that has become a thing of the past. So how can you as a consumer “wear it out”?

Take it literally. Wear clothes and shoes until they wear out
Make shoe repairs and simple mending rather than trashing these items
Recycle your textiles or trade with a friend so they receive the most possible use
Buy smaller amounts of higher quality clothing that will last in the long run
Create new items from old clothing, such as shorts from jeans, rags from shirts, quilts from baby clothes or favorite t-shirts
Use hand me downs for others or between your same gendered children

Make It Do

What does “Make it do” mean? If you own something and it has quirks that are annoying or it doesn’t exactly meet what you wanted in that product, keep it anyway and “make it do.” The problem of overconsumption and making things more affordable by making them more cheaply made has led to consumers simply throwing things out if they don’t meet their expectations. This has led to so much waste and landfills being filled faster than intended. What can you do instead?

Patch holes in your clothes or keep wearing jeans even after they get holes in the knees
Look on youtube for how to make simple repairs to electronics
Get creative with hot glue and superglue fixing cracks and breaks on toys and dishes, etc
Encourage your children to create new imaginary games with toys they already own rather than buying new ones. Use boxes and other recyclables to create forts and towns and beds for dolls, etc
Only grocery shop once a week. If you run out of something or need an ingredient you didn’t buy, look up substitutions you can use or get creative using ingredients you already have to create a new or one of a kind meal

Do Without

“Do without” means just that. If you don’t desperately need it, don’t buy it. If you already own two guitars, do you need a third? If you have 32 t-shirts, will a 33rd bring more joy to your life? Is the latest iphone really better than your current model?

If you have your eye on something new, wait a week before buying it and see if you really want it just as much a week later
Make new fancy recipes at home rather than going out to eat. Even buying fancy ingredients at the store is cheaper than eating at a restaurant
Declutter and get rid of things you don’t need or don’t wear. Donate these items to your local resale store instead of putting them in the trash
Become avid members of your local library. Libraries not only save you money buying books and dvds, they also offer classes like quilting, crafts, doing taxes and writing resumes that would save you money learning these things elsewhere

The Spectrum of Consumption

Though we are not in a time of war or in the midst of a great depression, the problem of consumption has only increased over the years. Landfills are filling up at an alarming rate. Fast fashion is getting faster and keeping up with the Joneses still reigns. In this time of overconsumption and great waste, we challenge you, our reader to be countercultural. To take a stand against the popular way, to educate yourself on ways to care for our Earth, and have wisdom on the products you bring into your home, whether textiles, food or anything else. Let us dare to create a new way, to again take hold of the words of Calvin Coolidge and indeed “Eat [or Use] it up, Wear it out, Make it do or Do without.”

Programs

New Year, New You

January 5, 2021December 11, 2020

Happy New Year! 2020 was a year to be remembered. Covid-19 made its way around the entire world, taking countless lives and causing fear in every home. Schools shut down and shifted to e-learning. Countries refused to import used clothing for several months. Thrift stores and donation bins were overwhelmed by donations of those stuck at home during prime spring cleaning time.

2021 is a brand new year! We have a new president taking office in the United States. The pandemic remains, but there is hope on the horizon, hope of a vaccine, hope of lower death rates as the initial onslaught subsides, hope of a new way of living as billions stayed at home, slowed down and reconnected. Whatever 2020 brought to your life, the new year is the perfect time to reassess, continuing on with the positive gained from last year, and letting go of the negative.

As you reassess for the year ahead, here are a few positive things you can implement in your own life this new year to care for our planet and for yourself:

5 Easy Recycling Resolutions

Last year, we posted this blog for the new year all about recycling resolutions. In it, we challenged our readers to:

Recycle Textiles
Reduce Textiles
30 Item, 30 Day Wardrobe Challenge
Recycling More than Textiles
Go One Step Further (with alternative wrapping paper, reducing junk mail, etc)

These resolutions help shape finite ways to play a part in caring for our planet and reducing anxiety in your own life around owning too much stuff. Recycling helps us feel good about doing good and slows down the amount of stuff that reaches the landfill each year. These ideas also give you avenues of creativity in finding alternative methods to doing everyday things such as picking clothes to wear or wrapping gifts. For the latter, check out this article posted last month about great alternatives to traditional wrapping paper.

Try Something New

As we continue to endure stay at home orders during our coldest season, why not try something new? If you are like me, being forced inside begins to make me feel like the walls are closing in, and though I am a transplanted southerner that would rather admire winter white by the window from the comfort of my warm home, I have three young children that often require my supervision outdoors.

When being stuck at home gets to be too much to bear, don that exquisite secondhand coat and that American-made, eco-friendly matching hat and gloves and see what fun new things you can try outside. For instance, I have never been on a snowmobile but would love to try it sometime. Neither have I cross-country skied. From what I’ve read from others, the key is dressing appropriately for the cold weather and committing to having fun!

Winter Wear

Have your children outgrown their coats and boots this year? Read this blog to see where to donate winter wear. Children’s resale sales abound in our area, and some have even gone online this year in the pandemic, allowing parents to shop from home and simply pick up items the following week curbside.

Reach out to neighbors and fellow moms to share items that children outgrow. Go through your own items and have your spouse go through theirs to pare down to what you most need and share your bounty with those in true need this winter. For those excess donations headed for your local thrift store, remember to check in with that location to find out pandemic hours and what they can and cannot accept. And never drop off to a location that is closed. Your items will not be resold but most likely head for a landfill if the location is overwhelmed and not accepting donations.

Happy New Year

As we head into this new year of the unknown, let us encourage each other to continue in hope. May we find fulfillment in doing good, in loving our neighbor and those inside our own homes well, in finding new (and old) ways of caring for our planet and in hoping for the future and for a time when this pandemic ends and we continue on in kindness. And may we always recycle our textiles. Happy new year!

Recycling

5 Easy Recycling Resolutions for You this New Year

December 27, 2019December 19, 2024

In a few days we will celebrate New Years, and with each new year comes new resolutions to make positive changes in our lives. While brainstorming ideas on what you’d like to work on in your private and professional life, please consider these simple ideas that will further efforts made to keep textiles and other materials out of landfills and keep your home tidy too. As we mentioned in our last blog on the 5 R’s, “over 11 million tons of recyclable clothing, shoes, and textiles make their way into landfills each year.” If we all do our part in recycling our textiles and household goods, we can make a large difference in the care of our planet and its future. Here are five ideas to inspire and get you started or help you continue in your recycling journey…

1. Recycle Your Textiles

Though Spring hasn’t arrived, a big cleanout is not completely necessary to simply begin recycling textiles as they wear out or no longer fit. Recycling textiles is important because textiles occupy “about 5% of landfill space and the amount is growing.” (Read more here) “Consumers throw away shoes and clothing [versus recycle], an average of 70 pounds per person, annually.” This means we have a long way to go in our recycling goals and in helping the environment.

What You Can Do

The first and most basic step is choosing to start a pile for the donation bin or resale store rather than immediately filling the trash can with old textiles. Remember to donate ALL old textiles because those who sort your donation will know best as to what is recyclable and what can only end up in landfill.

Education about textile recycling is another step in solving this problem so spread the word in the workplace and in your personal relationships so we can move toward becoming a greener country.

For more info about bin locations for Chicago Textile Recycling, please contact us. Also, we are perpetually looking to expand our area with new bin locations, so if you know of a local business near you that could host a bin, please let us know!

Benefits

-Aid in keeping textiles out of landfills

-Sense of purpose in helping the environment

-Sharing newfound knowledge to aid in spreading awareness about the importance of textile recycling

-Gives others inexpensive buying options for their own closets

–Creates rags for numerous industries in their day to day cleaning needs

-Used as insulation/stuffing/sound-proofing/padding etc

2. Reduce Your Textiles

Another resolution you can make for 2020 is to reduce the amount of clothes you buy. Fast fashion is a large part of the problem why many textiles end up in landfills. Fashion companies are over-producing clothes to constantly offer new items for sale and using cheaper materials that give clothes a shorter shelf life. “One garbage truck of clothes is burned or sent to landfills every second! The average consumer bought 60 percent more clothes in 2014 than in 2000, but kept each garment for half as long.” Advertising constantly pushes consumers to buy these new clothes which also adds to the amount of clothes that consumers then throw out. Part of solving this issue is for the retailer to see their role in this problem and producing less, but the other part of solving it is for you as the consumer to send a message to retailers by buying less.

What You Can Do

The main step for this resolution is to create the goal of buying less textiles.

Another step to help you in this goal would be to go ahead and unsubscribe from retail store emails, cancel those retail credit cards, and limit the advertising you choose to view on tv and the internet.

Coinciding with the first resolution in reducing your textiles would be to clean out your closet and textiles in your home and recycle what you no longer need or want. If you think you may need to buy something new, instead take everything out of your closet and perhaps you will discover items that you forgot existed. Get creative! Look online at different fashion blogs, pinterest ideas, youtube videos using clothes you already have and get new ideas on ways to wear these items with other pieces you already own. You can create a whole new wardrobe with items you already have.

Benefits

– Gives you a better sense of what you have and what to wear

-Simply paying attention to what clothes are wearing out quickly can help you make more informed choices when buying clothes and being mindful about the importance of choosing quality clothes for the long-term over quantity.

-Creativity with your styling choices and ideas

-Dual benefits of saving money you can spend on other things, pay off debt, or save for future

-This leads to another possible resolution…

3. 30 Day, 30 Items Wardrobe Challenge

The third resolution is a 30 day, 30 items wardrobe challenge. There are numerous blogs about it and the benefit of being limited in your everyday options of what to wear. Blogger Emily Recker wrote about her experience here. Doing this challenge/making this resolution will help you discover what you own, what you need, and be more mindful of how many clothes you have. This challenge also helps in getting more creative, intentional, and easing the morning routine in drastically decreasing options in what to wear, which has been a positive experience for most people who have taken this challenge.

Emily shared that “the crazy part is—I didn’t feel frustrated or limited by this challenge–I felt freedom. I spent less time trying to figure out what I’d wear every day, less time picking clothes up off the floor (bye, clutter…hello calm), less time digging through drawers, and even less time folding laundry!” Doesn’t that sound dreamy: “less time folding laundry”? She went on to say she enjoyed the challenge, that the process was fun, and that she wanted to keep going after the 30 days were up.

What You Can Do

For Emily’s challenge, she chose to only include tops, bottoms and shoes in her 30 items, and to not count undergarments, pjs, and workout clothes, so it is up to you to decide what to include or exclude from your thirty.

Choose close to 30 items from your closet that are basic enough that they pair well together, and maybe one or two pieces that pop more or are busier if you enjoy more variety in patterns and color. Commit to wearing only these items for the next 30 days. Share that you are taking this challenge with others so that they can hold you accountable.

Place all of your other clothes in storage or simply push them to the back of your closet for the next 30 days. Who knows? Maybe these next 30 days will inspire you to find freedom in decluttering your closet even more.

I am an avid tiny house show watcher. I’ve always been fascinated by miniatures, and one of the things I hadn’t thought about before watching these shows was the amount of paring down one must do to move into a tiny house. This most definitely included your closet, so for tiny house homeowners, the 30 item challenge is not just a challenge; it’s a way of life. If you had to move into a tiny house, what would you take? What would you leave? Maybe one of your new year’s resolutions could be to take this challenge and see how it can change your way of thinking about clothes and textiles and how much you really need.

Benefits

-Have positive and refreshing experience learning more about clothes and how to pair them well

-Much easier to get dressed in the morning

-Less clutter, more calm

-Less time folding laundry

-Decluttering reduces stress

-Ready to move into a tiny house! 😉

4. Recycle More than Textiles

Though we are a textile recycling company, we are committed to recycling in general, which includes much more than textiles with items such as cardboard and paper, glass, aluminum, plastic and any other product that can have a second life. It is important to recycle all products that you can to keep landfill waste to a minimum, and help take care of our Earth.

What You Can Do

The first thing to learn when recycling is what should I recycle and how should I recycle it? Our local waste company, SWALCO has made this very easy by creating an informative flier with guidelines about which household items should go in recycling bins and other considerations such as cleaning containers and not bagging recyclables. Check out their flier here.

“In the United States, we throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour – about 42,000 per minute, or about 695 per second.” This statistic doesn’t have to be the case. Recycle the bottles you do use, and when possible, take your own reusable water bottle with you. Airports and other high traffic places have added water bottle refill stations to the already existing water fountains to make it easy to have clean water in an environmentally-friendly bottle while you are traveling or out and about.

Benefits

-Do your part in taking care of the Earth

-Gain a sense of purpose in recycling responsibly

-Know that you are recycling the right things in the right way so that more doesn’t end up in landfills

-Become a part of a community that works toward helping the environment and creating a better future for our planet

5. One Step Further

For those of you who already recycle items at home and your textiles, your resolution might be to go one step further in helping the environment. As we’ve mentioned before in other blog posts, we urge you to not only recycle household items, but to go one step further in reducing your carbon footprint. There are always new ways we can change how we live to make a difference for our planet.

There are many ways to make simple lifestyle changes that can affect the environment for the better. Small changes build up to large differences, especially when you help spread the word so that others also make these small changes. The biggest difference you can make is doing your part in recycling and helping Chicago Textile Recycling spread the word about the importance of recycling for everyone.

What You Can Do

As you unsubscribe from retail store emails with advertising that begs you to buy more clothes and other products, also contact those companies and stores sending junk mail and other unwanted printed advertising mail. Recycle what does come in the mail because “the majority of the 4 million tons of junk mail that Americans receive annually ends up in landfills.” Another interesting fact is that “the energy used to create and distribute junk mail in the US for one day could heat 250,000 homes.” By doing small things, we can help to reduce this number.

As the major shopping holidays are now behind us, we should be aware that “while the United States celebrates the holidays, Americans produce an additional 5 million tons of waste (four million of the 5 million tons consisting of wrapping paper and shopping bags).” As we look toward the new year, let’s resolve to lessen that statistic dramatically. Take reusable bags with you as you shop, find creative ways to wrap such as tea towels, cleaned chip bags used inside out, wordsearch puzzle paper, or simply recycled and recyclable craft paper colored by you or your children.

Go paperless. Switch all of your bill paying to online. This will help you save money by no longer buying stamps but also save unnecessary use of paper, and save trees. “On average, Americans use 650 pounds of paper a year. Each.” Also, “U.S. businesses use around 21 million tons of paper every year.”

Benefits

-Decrease your carbon footprint

-Feel good about educating others on how to do the same

-Support tree life by doing what you can to decrease paper intake and output in your own home

-Becoming creative in present giving

-Inspire others who see you out and about with reusable bags

Looking Forward to the Year Ahead

The idea of a fresh start for a new year can be a very exciting and promising venture. Regardless of where you are on your recycling journey, there are always new ways of doing more and new ideas on becoming creative with what you already own. Chicago Textile Recycling is wishing each of you a wonderful new year in 2020 and will continue to encourage and challenge you through blogs, articles and idea posts to make small changes in your life so that all of us collectively can have a healthier planet for our future.

Recycling Statistics pulled from this website

Fashion Statistics pulled from this website

Green Benefits

The 5 R’s

December 17, 2019December 19, 2024

“Although 75% of America’s waste is recyclable, we only recycle around 30% of it.”

In September, the Vice President of our company attended the S.M.A.R.T. 2019 Regional Meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina. Over the course of the weekend, he attended a Panel Discussion with three leaders making a difference in the textile recycling world. One of these leaders was David Rousse, president of the International Nonwoven Disposables Association (INDA). During his presentation, David discussed plastics in the environment, the importance of recycling, and posted one salient powerpoint slide that takes the three R’s we are used to… Reuse, Reduce, Recycle…two steps further.

In his “Desired Path Forward” for the future of our planet and recycling, David calls for each of us to “Support the 5 R’s”:

Refuse – plastic bags, straws, cutlery, etc
Reduce – use of plastic in packaging
Reuse – versus disposing; may include repair
Recycle – into same or another product
Repurpose – use an item for something else

At Chicago Textile Recycling, we strongly encourage our recyclers to recycle their textiles, with us, or with their local resale store. And even further, we truly desire to see each of you go beyond recycling only textiles to eco-consciously disposing of all recyclables you come into contact with, from plastics to aluminum, cardboard and paper to anything that can be kept out of landfills by using one of these 5 R’s. “Over 11 million tons of recyclable clothing, shoes, and textiles make their way into landfills each year.” With “9 out of 10 people [saying] they would recycle if it were ‘easier,’” we at Chicago Textile Recycling hope with education about recycling and raising awareness, these numbers can change.

A few months ago, we encouraged this very idea through a blog post highlighting a few things CTR does not accept in their bins and how you can go about recycling those products in your area. Read that blog here.

Refuse – plastic bags, straws, cutlery, etc.

The first “R” David highlighted was to “Refuse” plastic bags, straws, cutlery, etc. When out and about, it is so easy to stop by a store and buy an item and simply accept a plastic bag upon purchasing that item. But David and those at INDA encourage us to refuse plastic bags. If it is something small, choose instead to carry the product(s) out of the store in your hand or purse after purchasing. Even better, place a few reusable grocery bags in your trunk, and put them back in there after unloading each time when you get home. That way, you are never in need of a plastic bag even if you’re simply making a quick stop on your way home from work.

Refuse straws and plastic cutlery by drinking with an open lid or also stocking your car with reusable straws and cutlery when out and about. Go one step further and bring your own reusable travel cup. These are small items that could even fit in your purse or backpack if you use alternative transportation getting around in daily life. Small efforts go a long way in helping reduce your carbon footprint. “According to a study done by the University of Georgia, 18 billion pounds of plastic trash winds up in our oceans each year. To put that in perspective, it’s enough trash to cover every foot of coastline around the world with five full trash bags of plastic…compounding every year.”

Reduce – use of plastic in packaging

The second “R” is to “Reduce” the use of plastic in packaging. Recently, we posted an article about how parts of Asia are reducing packaging by grouping produce items with banana leaves instead of plastic bags. (Read more here) Part of this problem is improper disposal. “The United States throws away $11.4 billion worth of recyclable containers and packaging every year.” The other part of the problem is simply reducing the need for this packaging with creative solutions, such as banana leaves for produce. “The amount of plastic film and wrap produced annually could shrink-wrap the state of Texas.”

Some ideas from this website on reducing your plastic use include opting for products in recyclable boxes or cardboard containers rather than bottles, staying out of the frozen section of the grocery store and buying bulk with reusable containers.

Reuse – versus disposing; may include repair

In our consumer-driven society, we often choose to throw away something when it is in need of repair rather than taking time to mend it or have it mended. A hundred years ago, this was not the case. Most belongings were made with high quality and longevity in mind, so when they did break or need mending, there were shops in place or know how by the general public in fixing these items at home. Many women sewed the family’s clothes, so when there was a rip in the fabric or a hole in a sock, repairs were easy and done right at home.

This newer proliferation of consumerism and the ease it brings in replacing rather than repairing has led to an overabundance of items ending up in our landfills when they could have lasted longer with a bit of loving repair. Our third “R” is “Reuse” – versus disposing, which may include repair.

Learning the basics of sewing can help many of your textiles have a longer shelf life at home and making good use of youtube videos can also help in minor repairs of items around the house. With landfills reaching their limits, it is increasingly important that we seek out items that are made with high quality and return to the mindset of repair and restoration over replacement.

Reuse and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) is in fact an up and coming trend and has the potential to again become the norm. Bloggers, Youtube sensations, a peaked interest in DIY through the creation of Pinterest and small starter companies are pursuing this very idea of reuse in restoration through antiquing, restoring old homes with reclaimed barn flooring and original revamped antique pieces, reusing old clothes items in new ways with many other ideas of reuse in the everyday. As the focus on environment and recycling continues to grow, hopefully these interests of the upcoming generation will continue to expand the idea of reuse into the norm. The saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” rings true here as antiques and resale stores become a larger part of our consumer trend.

Recycle – into same or another product

The fourth “R” is “Recycle” – into the same or another product. Reuse and recycle are often confused terms so a simple explanation to differentiate the two is that reuse involves using the same product in its original form for the same or a different purpose. Recycling is a process and involves turning one product into a new product so as not to waste the material.

Recycling can involve numerous products, from cans to paper to textiles to plastic bottles, and much more. Some even make businesses out of collecting and creating art to sell with other people’s recycled goods. You can recycle paper down to pulp and create new paper or recycle blue jeans into insulation for homes. There are many ways that recycling companies have figured out how to create new products from older products with life still left in them.

As many of you know, the heart of who we are at Chicago Textile Recycling is about educating our community. Knowledge has been growing in the problem of textiles in landfills, and so has the pursuit of creating a closed loop of textiles and fashion. “Over 11 million tons of recyclable clothing, shoes and textiles make their way into landfills each year.” Donating your textiles to resale stores and donation bins is one big way you can give your textiles another life. The same is true of other goods in your home with regards to being recycled versus placed out by the curb on trash day.

Textiles can be recycled in almost every case, with the majority reused and resold in other countries. Other textiles are recycled and cut into wiping rags, and others are recycled and broken down into fibers to make filling for car seats, insulation and other products. Here is our blog about the process recycled textiles go through after donation.

Repurpose – use an item for something else

Already mentioned previously in this post is the fifth and final “R”: “Repurpose” your items for something else. There are many ways you can do this. Cutting an old coat down to a vest, using recyclables to make art, using old wood flooring to make picture frames or child size furniture, or turning old bed sheets into new clothes are just a few ways household items can be repurposed. Follow our page on Facebook or Twitter to read articles about different companies that are doing this very thing with textiles.

One example of this in our very own backyard is the Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago. Local artists have created sea animal sculptures outside the aquarium on display made from trash collected from our oceans. With a little bit of creativity, new purposes can be found for items anywhere you look.

wRap up

With a little extra effort, you can easily work these five R’s into your daily routine. Recycle textiles, bring along reusable bags and dining accessories, become educated in what to recycle and how to recycle it, and use a little bit of creativity when items in your everyday no longer serve their purpose. When each of us plays our small role in reducing our output to landfills, we can make a large difference in impacting our world for a better tomorrow.

All quote recycling statistics were found here.

Choose Consciously

Why Choose a Conscious Closet? Less is Best

A Capsule Wardrobe

Choose Quality over Quantity

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do…

Use It Up

Wear It Out

Make It Do

Do Without

The Spectrum of Consumption

New Year, New You

5 Easy Recycling Resolutions

Try Something New

Winter Wear

Happy New Year

5 Easy Recycling Resolutions for You this New Year

1. Recycle Your Textiles

What You Can Do

Benefits

2. Reduce Your Textiles

What You Can Do

Benefits

3. 30 Day, 30 Items Wardrobe Challenge

What You Can Do

Benefits

4. Recycle More than Textiles

What You Can Do

Benefits

5. One Step Further

What You Can Do

Benefits

Looking Forward to the Year Ahead

The 5 R’s

Refuse – plastic bags, straws, cutlery, etc.

Reduce – use of plastic in packaging

Reuse – versus disposing; may include repair

Recycle – into same or another product

Repurpose – use an item for something else

wRap up

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