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Companies Making a Difference

December 3, 2021December 2, 2021

At Chicago Textile Recycling, we are always interested in new ways of recycling textiles and closing the loop to reduce textile waste. Along the way, we have come across numerous companies making large strides to help close this gap and aid in reducing textile waste and/or pursue new technologies to recycle textiles. Here are several companies of many we have found and why they are essential to this environmental pursuit.

Circ

One company working to recycle polyester and cotton fabric is Circ, based in Danville, Virginia and founded by Peter Majeranowski and Conor Hartman.

“The duo have been working on refining this recycling process which would enable them to not only recover the polyester, but also the cotton, and in a manner that would keep the integrity of the fibers intact,” says Hartman. This is the key distinction in their innovation, he adds. Breaking down polyester to its monomers results in a high-quality cotton cellulose, Majeranowski explains, which can serve as a replacement for tree pulp (needed to make cellulosic fibers like lyocell, rayon/viscose, modal).”

For understanding how they use this cellulose, check out their website.

Evrnu

Another company helping to close the loop is Evrnu,

“the inventor and intellectual property owner of a wide range of regenerative fiber technologies, which enable entirely new products to be made from discarded clothing, not just once but multiple times. Products made with NuCycl by Evrnu can be disassembled to the molecular level and regenerated multiple times into new clothing, home and industrial textiles with extraordinary performance and environmental advantages. The technology uses repolymerization to convert the original fiber molecules into new high performing renewable fibers. Even the toughest type of textile waste – 100% post-consumer – can be turned into new materials with NuCycl.”

Founded by Stacy Flynn and Christopher Stanev, Evrnu is committed to changing the future of textiles with recycling technologies.

Renewcell

Renewcell, a technology company founded in 2012 and based in Stockholm, desires to close the loop for textiles:

“Our recycling technology dissolves used cotton and other cellulose fibers and transforms them into a new, biodegradable raw material: Circulose® pulp. Our customers use it to make biodegradable virgin quality viscose or lyocell textile fibers. This is the link that has been missing from the cycle. We close the loop.”

What exactly is circulose? “Circulose® is a branded ‘dissolving pulp’ product that Renewcell makes from 100% textile waste such as worn-out jeans and production scraps.” Two years after being founded, a model walked the runway wearing a yellow dress created from Renewcell’s technology using recycled blue jeans. As demand grows, Renewcell is building relationships with and creating recycled garments for numerous clothing companies.

Worn Again

With multiple companies working toward recycling polyester and cotton textiles, Worn Again is taking up the challenge to recycle polyester blends, one of the harder fabrics to separate for recycling.

“We are focussed on solving the challenging issue of converting polyester and polycotton blended textiles, and PET plastic, at their end of use, back into circular raw materials. Our advanced recycling technology is able to separate, decontaminate and extract polyester and cellulose (from cotton) from non-reusable textiles and polyester bottles and packaging to produce dual PET and cellulose outputs, therefore putting sustainable resources back into production supply chains.”

The process used by Worn Again “allows these materials to go back into manufacturing, moving away from linear supply chain to a circular system.”

Sustainable Composites

All of the companies we have mentioned so far aim to recycle cotton and polyester fabrics, but Sustainable Composites focuses on recycling a different material – leather.

“Up to 75% of traditional leather is unused and is often disposed of by being sent to landfill or incineration. Sustainable Composites LLC has developed a patented, totally unique, technically advanced material made from leather waste which changes the environmental landscape for leather products. It is a new application of fiber technology, using only leather fiber derived from waste leather, to produce a responsible product with the attributes only previously available with traditional leather.”

On their website, Sustainable Composites states that “Up to 75% of traditional leather is unused and is often disposed of by being sent to landfill or incineration.” This company is working to change that by recycling leather waste and making durable and quality products made to last.

BlockTexx

Though textile to textile recycling is pursued by many companies, BlockTexx recycles textiles and turns them into other products as well, such as packaging and building products in addition to textiles. Some of the end products are even used in pharmaceutical and food industries.

“BlockTexx owns proprietary technology that separates polyester and cotton materials such as clothes, sheets and towels of any colour or condition back into their high value raw materials of PET and Cellulose for reuse as new products for all industries. The recovered PET is polymerised to create virgin-quality S.O.F.T. branded rPET plastic pellets and polyester fibre suitable for use in textiles, packaging, building products. The recovered cellulose is processed to create S.O.F.T. branded cellulose powder for use in many industries such as textile, pharmaceutical and food.”

Fabscrap

Also working to close the loop is one company we’ve posted about before, Fabscrap. Based in New York City, this company collects primarily pre-consumer waste from designers, organizes it and offers it for purchase to design students or anyone else interested in creating textile products from the fabric. For donated fabric that can’t be reused, Fabscrap

“can shred any fabric of any blend, as long as there’s no spandex in it. The result is fluffy fiber pulp called shoddy that is used in many things: insulation, carpet padding, mattress stuffing, moving blankets, even refrigerated meal delivery boxes. So this is not technically recycling—it’s substantially extending the life of fibers.”

As more designers have learned about this great company, it has expanded to a second location in Philadelphia, as well as now offering an online presence. “For other waste—fabrics and even materials such as scrap leather—we redistribute or resell. We have fabric thrift stores in our warehouses, including now in Philadelphia, that are open to the public, plus an online store.”

Weturn

Lastly, Weturn, based in France, recycles unused pre-consumer textiles back into yarn to be reused for creating new textiles. “Our job is to recycle unsold textiles from fashion houses into new quality yarn with a focus on traceability, profitability and information.” This company offers something slightly different from those previously mentioned. Companies that donate textiles can trace the process Weturn uses from start to finish, including the sale of recycled yarn, profiting from their donations of unused pre-consumer textiles.

So Many More

These eight companies devoted to textile recycling and closing the loop are only a small sampling of the many companies in the world devoted to this pursuit. We are hopeful at Chicago Textile Recycling that as more and more people recognize the need for textile recycling and creating textiles more sustainably, the day will come soon when the problem of textile waste will be a thing of the past.

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.

Green Benefits

5 Fast Facts about Textile Recycling

September 8, 2021

Here at Chicago Textile Recycling, we think recycling your textiles is not only important, but vital to the well-being of our planet. It cuts down immensely on waste at landfills and has an incredible impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Ready to learn five fast facts?

3.8 Billion Pounds

“The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average person throws away 81 pounds of clothing per year. That adds up to 3.8 billion pounds of unnecessary waste added to our landfills.” (quote found here)

Why do people choose to throw away textiles? Potential reasons could be:

Not enough information about what can and cannot be recycled (found here)
Easier to throw away (found on infographic here)
Resources for textile recycling are too far away

Each of these reasons are things we can work to eradicate together. As we educate our readers on textile recycling, we can all do our part in sharing this information with neighbors and friends and families, extending knowledge so more people know the profound and long-lasting benefits of recycling. We can likewise encourage and challenge ourselves and others to take the time and make the choice to recycle textiles instead of throwing them away. And if you know of areas in need of a textile recycling bin, please contact us so that we can provide more coverage for those who want to recycle.

Clean and Dry

“Any textile item, even if it’s worn, torn, or stained, can be recycled. You can even recycle a single shoe! Items simply need to be clean and dry.”

In our previous blog on “Textile Recycling 101”, we discussed our ability to accept worn, torn or stained textiles as long as the items are clean and dry. Even one wet or smelly item in your donation bag can render the whole bag or box unusable so please make sure each and every item is clean and dry before dropping off your donation.

And yes, though paired shoes are preferred, we also accept single shoes.

Decreased Need for Natural Resources

“Recycling clothing and textiles decreases the use of natural resources, such as water used in growing crops and petroleum used in creating new clothing and textiles. It also decreases the need for chemicals used in manufacturing new textiles and the pollution caused by the manufacturing process.”

In addition to keeping textiles out of landfills, recycling old clothing and textiles also benefits the earth when others use your donated items. Wearing used clothing and shoes or purchasing used textiles such as curtains reduces the need for producing new items. This cuts down on precious natural resources needed to produce new textiles.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

“10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by clothing and footwear production. This is more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.” (found here)

Overproduction in the fashion industry is a huge problem. Though fashion companies need to do their part in producing less clothing and make their products more sustainable, the consumer also has a responsibility in what they purchase. With such a large amount of clothing available in the world, choose wisely and sustainably in your purchase decisions. To cut back on greenhouse gases, consider buying used at thrift stores or in one of many online used marketplaces.

95% Can Be Recycled

According to the infographic found here at the website for Secondary Materials And Recycled Textiles, “95% of textiles worn or torn can be recycled.”

This is a HUGE reason to recycle old textiles. With 85% of textiles being thrown away, what a big difference it would make to instead recycle those items. Of those recycled textiles, 95% can be used again, either for reuse by a new owner, downcycled into wiping rags or broken down to fiber content.

Recycling Recap

Now that you know these five fast facts, what is stopping you from recycling your textiles? Help us in our mission to educate others about the importance and impact of textile recycling and share this blog with your friends and family. Have you heard any interesting facts about textile recycling that you’d like to share with us? Comment below on the blog or on our social media pages.

Programs

CTR FAQ

August 10, 2021November 8, 2024

Chicago Textile Recycling receives numerous questions from readers and recyclers daily. We are happy to answer any and all questions you may have about textile recycling as one of our goals is to educate readers about the importance of recycling textiles and keeping them out of landfills. There are a few questions that come up repeatedly in our inbox and so thought it may be helpful to address some of those with a blog post covering each one.

Can I Ship Items to Your Facility?

You are welcome to ship items to our facility in Hillside, however it will be at cost to you. This is why we do our best in placing bins around the Chicagoland area, partner with SWALCO to place even more bins, partner with local resale stores, and are always looking for new, often frequented locations to add more bins. If you are looking for a bin or partner resale store near your location, please email us and we will let you know of the closest one. Also, if you know of a business that would be happy to host a bin, please reach out to us.

Where Do I Take Items too Worn for Resale?

Another question we receive quite frequently at CTR is this one. And our answer is “donate all of your items to the same place.” Resale store employees are experienced in knowing what will have resale value and separating out the rest to sell/give to textile recyclers and graders.

CTR works with numerous resale stores in the Chicagoland area consistently picking up items unusable by resale stores and sending them overseas or to graders, who decide the fate of each item. When in doubt of what to do with a used textile, it is best to donate it and let the experts decide if it is indeed at its end of life. We accept worn, torn and stained items, so please donate them.

Why Don’t You Post a List of Your Bins

As for the question we often receive regarding why we don’t post a public list of our bins, at this time we don’t provide one. Unfortunately in our industry there are many illegal bin operators that don’t follow permitting and permission guidelines. These companies often search for public lists and drop illegal bins on the listed properties. This causes confusion and hassle for our donors as well as partner locations. So we keep our list private to help protect our recycling partners from these types of operations.

Do You Recycle Fabric Scraps?

Most recycling organizations are seeking clothing, as it is the most versatile material for recycling. Although there are recycling options for scraps, it is really large volumes (hundreds of pounds) that are necessary to process these kinds of materials. With that in mind, we always recommend that individuals get creative with these items for recycling. We would recommend that you contact a local preschool or daycare and see if they would like these items for their art room. Often these kinds of locations greatly appreciate donations of this sort. Another resource we would recommend you checkout is freecycle.

Can You Destroy Company Apparel?

Yes! Our Business Recycling & Destruction Services program offers local businesses the opportunity to responsibly recycle branded apparel items through textile recycling. We typically are able to accept: 100% Cotton T-Shirts, Polo Shirts and Sweatshirts and Cotton/Poly Blend T-Shirts, Polo Shirts and Sweatshirts. CTR is able to offer a certificate of recycling to your company as well as photographic evidence of destruction per request. Our destruction services are free once the apparel arrives at our facility. We are able to pick up for a fee or you can ship/drop off to us. Please see our website for more information.

What Happens with the Donations?

This is another great question we receive quite often. There are many possibilities of where your donated clothes can end up. This is why it is so important to not throw textiles away! The short answer is: resale, wiping rags, reprocessing or landfill. To know more about each of these and follow the entire process, read our blog about “Where Do They Go? Part 1 – Bins”.For what happens when donating to resale stores, the process is nearly identical. You can read all about it in “Where Do They Go? Part 2 – Resale Stores”.

Textile Recycling 101

July 14, 2021

“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.

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.

Recycling

Donating with R-E-S-P-E-C-T

April 21, 2021November 8, 2024

“One garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every single second around the world.” (quoted by Elizabeth Cline in “The Conscious Closet”, p32, originally from a publication by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

Many of you, our readers, have asked “Can I donate this?” when referring to items that are torn or stained or in condition less pristine than “gently used.” The answer is yes. Always donate items if you are unsure. Unless it is wet or smelly, please donate it. If it is wet, dry it and then donate it. If it is smelly, wash it and then donate it. As quoted above, trashing textiles continues to be a huge problem in our world, one with huge effects on our ecosystems.

To shine a little more light on this topic, Elizabeth Cline’s book “The Conscious Closet” addresses some of the very questions you have asked and highlights some tips for Used Clothing Etiquette.

Clothing is Not Garbage

“Many of us make an honest effort to donate our gently used clothes, but we’re confused about what to do with the pieces that are worn out or broken. Isn’t it disrespectful to donate these items?” (Cline, p32)

The answer is no. Here at Chicago Textile Recycling, and most resale stores, we want all of your used textiles. As noted above, unless it is smelly or wet, please donate. There are employees highly trained at resale stores and grading facilities that sort each piece, and those that are not resaleable can still be used. Some of the uses for worn out, stained and torn clothing can be fiber content for car seat filling or insulation or wiping rags for businesses such as automotive companies and restaurants, for example. Few donated textiles are truly at their end of life, but it is always best to allow the experts to decide. So please donate textiles, no matter the condition.

“The vast majority of clothes are thrown out before their useful life is over, which amounts to lost value, resources and landfilling fees.” (Cline, p 32) Cline goes on quoting multiple sources about the millions spent in landfill fees for trashing and burning textiles, greenhouse gases emitted by clothes in landfills as well as hazardous chemicals released by some synthetics. She continues, listing the immense environmental benefits from recycling and donating clothing. With donating clothing, she highlights some tips for offering quality donations and showing respect for those to whom we donate.

Used Clothing Etiquette

In her book “Conscious Closet”, Elizabeth Cline devotes hundreds of pages to simple steps the reader can make toward caring for our Earth through taking better care of our textiles. This can be done in a myriad of ways: caring about workers making our clothes, demanding clothes of better quality, keeping textiles out of landfills, treating textiles with respect, understanding different fibers and fabrics and more. After cleaning out our closets, she shares guidelines of etiquette we should strive to follow to make the best use of items we no longer desire to own. They include:

Clean your clothes, no exceptions
Remove personal belongings and detritus
Tie your shoes together
Mend and repair
Never leave your donations outside unattended

Clean Your Clothes, No Exceptions

The first guideline she suggests is to clean your clothes before donating them. This follows our requirements that no donations be smelly or wet upon donation. “Set-in stains are fine if you’re recycling, but odors and unwashed dirt and grime are not.” (p 31) She continues, “Do this out of respect for the dozens of people who will handle your clothes. Dirty clothes also might end up in the dump, as it takes secondhand clothing dealers precious time to wash them.” If you are choosing to donate textiles to help care for our planet, and you are choosing to travel to a bin or resale store, choose also to make sure your donations are clean first.

Remove Personal Belongings and Detritus

The second guideline is to “Inspect your pockets and the fabric and remove all pet hair, lint, dirty tissues, coins, receipts, and the like” (p31). This is done out of respect for those you are donating to so that they do not have to take precious time in doing this. It also can be for your own sake. Shopping for purses at a thrift store, I once came upon a purse that had around ten $1 dollar bills inside. This person missed out on precious money by not checking their items before donation. Other times, I have pulled on my own coats when winter rolled back around only to find a $10 or $20 dollar bill I had forgotten was in the pocket. Remember to check through your items before adding them to donation bags.

Tie Your Shoes Together

Thirdly, Cline recommends tying your shoes together when donating. “There’s an overseas market for single shoes, but those that are paired up are much more valuable and have a greater chance of finding a new home.” (p 31) Again, these guidelines are about respecting workers in the secondhand business and doing small things that make a big difference with our donations.

Mend and Repair

“All donated clothing should be mended or repaired whenever possible to extend the item’s life and keep it out of landfills.” (p 31) At Chicago Textile Recycling and most bins and resale stores, torn textiles are accepted and wanted, but repaired or mended items have higher value and more salability. If you have the time and want to offer higher quality donations, mended and repaired items are greatly appreciated.

Never Leave Your Donations Outside Unattended

Lastly, as we have said before, especially during this time of Covid-19, when many resale stores have reduced hours or are even closing at times for the pandemic, it is vital that you check with your donation site first to make sure they are accepting donations at that time. If they are closed or “the collection point is full, do not leave your items outdoors unattended. Clothing left outside might get rained on or become damp and then mildew. From there, it will be landfilled.” (p 31)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T and Gratitude

All of us at Chicago Textile Recycling are thankful for your donations. A big part of our gratitude is having those who donate show respect for our planet, for their textiles and for us by following many of these guidelines of etiquette and showing great care for their textiles. It is the heart of our organization to see textiles stay out of landfills and have second lives in the hands of other consumers, as wiping rags or as fiber content. If you have further questions about donations we accept, check here and then reach out for more information or to find your nearest bin or resale store.

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.”

Our Company

Wipers

November 20, 2020November 13, 2024

As many of our readers know, Chicago Textile Recycling operates under its parent company of Wipeco, Inc. A supplier of wiping rags for Chicagoland and the greater Midwest, Wipeco plays a vital role in textile recycling.

“Few consumers, anywhere, have heard of the wiping rag industry. But it bails out everyone. Approximately 30 percent of the textiles recovered for recycling in the United States are converted to wiping rags, according to Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles: the Association of Wiping Materials, Used Clothing, and Fiber Industries (SMART), a U.S.-based trade association. And that’s probably an undercount. The 45 percent of recycled textiles that are reused as apparel eventually wear out, too. When they do, they are also bound for the wiping rag companies.” (“Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale”, Minter, p 158)

A Short History

Previously, we shared a very short history of the rag and bone man from the early to mid nineteenth century here. There is no way to truly know when people began cutting old clothes into cleaning rags, but I imagine it began much earlier.

“For most of human history, rag making has been an act of household thrift so common that few consumers think of it as recycling, sustainable, or green. What transformed this act of household thrift into an industrial process were the factories and machines that created the industrial revolution. Maintaining and repairing those machines required rags to apply or wipe up grease and oil. In industrializing England, the most abundant source of those rags was the growing surplus of used, unwanted textiles made by those very machines. An industry emerged to collect and deliver them to the rag makers, and by the late nineteenth century, British rag makers were as industrialized as the textile mills, with buying networks as complex as those used to distribute clothing to the growing retail industry. Rag making soon went global: by 1929, the United States was the leading rag-making nation, home to at least twenty-six wiping rag companies with industrial laundries that ensured the cleanest rags possible. Thousands of people were employed in rag-cutting factories.” (p 159)

Wipeco began in 1960 when Wipeco founder Courtney Shanken’s cloth diaper service business was evaporating with the growing popularity of disposable diapers. He began receiving numerous calls from manufacturers asking to purchase the used clean cloth diapers as rags. From then, it has grown into the business it is today. Though many rag-cutting and supply companies have moved overseas, a number still remain in the United States run by committed and passionate employers who aim to supply quality wiping rags to businesses such as those listed in the quote above.

Why Rags?

What exactly is the need for rags? Are they really necessary for businesses? Do they truly keep a significant number of textiles out of landfills?

“Nobody counts the number of wiping rags manufactured in the United States and elsewhere every year. But anyone who knows the industry acknowledges that the numbers are in the many billions, and growing. The oil and gas industry, with its network of pipes and valves, requires hundreds of millions of rags per year to wipe leaks, lubricants, and hands. Hotels, bars, and restaurants need billions of rags to wipe everything from glasses to tabletops to railings. Auto manufacturers need rags to wipe down cars as they come off the assembly line; repair garages need rags to clean off dipsticks after oil changes; car washes need them to apply wax. Painters need them to wipe brushes, spills and drips. And the healthcare industry demands endless numbers of rags to keep hospitals and clinics clean and sanitary.” (Minter, p 158)

As Minter shares, rags are vital to many industries in our country. With billions used, billions are kept out of landfills. With billions kept out of landfills, those who recycle textiles can know they are making a difference with their donations supplying necessary rags to keep businesses clean and healthy and keeping unnecessary items out of landfills, further harming our planet.

Wipers Today

With the advent of the pandemic this year, even greater is the need for wiping rags in various industries. Wiping rags used in conjunction with disinfectants and cleaners are essential in keeping populations safe and healthy during this harrowing time. However, rags are not what they were even fifty years ago.

“The days of recycled 100 percent cotton wiping rags are pretty much over, and so are the days when wiping rag manufacturers could rely on industry specifications. The problem is that clothes and textiles simply aren’t as well made as they used to be. A shirt that falls apart after a few washes can’t be transformed into a rag suitable for wiping down a freshly washed car or a restaurant table. Cheap fast fashion isn’t just hurting thrift shops; it’s hastening a garment’s trip to the landfill or garbage incinerator.” (Minter, p 162)

As quality decreases with textile production, many suppliers have had to turn to disposable paper wipers and even create their own wiping rags, seeing the product through from cotton fields to rag, certifying a quality product with the highest standards for wipers. The wiping rag trade is one that is both complicated and creative, and remains indispensable to many industries in our country.

Textile Recycling

Our hope at Chicago Textile Recycling is that with this short education around the importance of wiping rags and our ongoing goal of spreading awareness around textile recycling in general will further spur on your desire to recycle textiles and educate those in your sphere of influence. By recycling textiles, you are furthering the production of wiping rags to supply necessary businesses such as hospitals, schools and hotels to keep patients, students, and patrons healthy during this season of sickness. You are helping your community in supplying thrift and resale stores with products to sell to aid their missions of reaching at-risk and poor populations. You are providing fiber content for insulation in numerous homes, cars, and other products. And you are keeping textiles out of landfills and furthering the care of our planet.

Our Company

Receiving the Perfect Grade

October 26, 2020November 13, 2024

Previously in our blogs at Chicago Textile Recycling, we have explained the process of what happens to your textiles once they are donated. The processes are quite similar whether donating to bins or resale stores. Though there is typically only one grading company that donations are sent to in the recycling process, there are many phases of sorting that donated textiles and other donations go through before they reach their final destination.

“Grade 1” – Donation Sorting

Once donations are received in bins or resale stores, the employees sift through the donations deciding the fate, or potential fate, for each item.

Upon receipt of donations, employees at resale stores quickly sort items into different groups, such as electronics, textiles, housewares, etc. Another group of employees then sort through those groups, assessing what can be resold in store versus what then goes to consolidators or recyclers. Ways to assess textiles are brand name, condition (holes, stains, etc), and knowledge of demand (what has previously sold).

Many of those items not destined to be resold in stores are sent to consolidators, which is what we are at Chicago Textile Recycling. For those who donate to our bins, our employees at CTR assess donations we receive and consolidate them, sending them to resale stores in the U.S. or graders or to secondhand vendors overseas. Those unfit for resale we buy back from graders for use as rags.

Grade 2 – Grading Facilities

After consolidation, donations are sent to grading companies, such as Maple Textiles, the one Adam Minter visits in his book, “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale.” Grading companies, such as those in the town of Mississauga, sort, price and ship “as much as one third of the used clothing generated in Canada and the United States. It’s one of the world’s biggest hubs for the purchase and sale of used clothing.” (Minter, p. 132)

After describing the inside appearance of Maple Textiles, Minter goes on to explain the process:

“The clothes are pulled and graded into smaller– and finer– categories. ‘First we sort into boxes,’ Yusuf [owner] says. ‘Then our more experienced employees sort into barrels.’ [He continues, pulling a dress shirt from a box], “‘This is B-grade because of the yellow collar, and it needs to be washed. So it’ll go into a B-grade bundle and be sold for less.’ We stare into a barrel of clothes that Yusuf calls ‘number three.’ Most are torn and feel thin and cheap. ‘That’s sent for rags,’ he says. ‘Wiping rags.’”

(Minter, p139-140)

Minter goes on to say that just as clothing is sorted in local resale stores according to what customers in that area will buy, employees at grading companies are knowledgeable about what will sell overseas and grade accordingly. These items are then bundled and loaded onto shipping containers to make their way to textile vendors in Africa and other places.

The Final “Grade” – Overseas Vendors

Once a portion of donated textiles cross the ocean to their final stop before being resold to customers, they are sorted once more by those who know firsthand what will sell in their local markets. Minter traveled to Nigeria to learn more about this process from a man named Mr. A, and what happens to donated textiles once they make it to secondhand markets.

“Mr. A tells me that his biggest challenge is sorting the containers of clothes that he imports. The graders in North America and Europe do a good job, but he needs to do his own sort for his Nigerian customers.” (Minter, p 149)

This process of sorting once again for the neighborhood markets involves another warehouse with perhaps fifty employees sorting through used clothes “imported from around the world.” Mr. A tells Minter that there are “more than one hundred sorting and grading warehouses in Cotonou.” (Minter, p. 150) Noone knows what will sell better than the resident vendors that sell the textiles.

Once sorted, textiles that have made the final cut are placed out in neighborhood markets for sale. It has been quite a long process for these textiles to reach the end of their journey but a necessary one that employs hundreds of people and supports several different economies along the way.

Making the Cut

Whether resold in store, resold overseas, used in wiping rags or as fiber content, textiles have a great potential for use again and again. That is why it is so very important to recycle textiles and not throw them away. Even for those textiles with holes and stains, allow sorters and graders to make the best use of each item in pursuing the end goal of keeping textiles out of landfills.

Circ

Evrnu

Renewcell

Worn Again

Sustainable Composites

BlockTexx

Fabscrap

Weturn

So Many More

Jordan and the Magic Cape

Where Did My Clothes Come From?

My Panda Sweater

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Something from Nothing

I Had a Favorite Dress

New Old Shoes

Next Generation

3.8 Billion Pounds

Clean and Dry

Decreased Need for Natural Resources

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

95% Can Be Recycled

Recycling Recap

Can I Ship Items to Your Facility?

Where Do I Take Items too Worn for Resale?

Why Don’t You Post a List of Your Bins

Do You Recycle Fabric Scraps?

Can You Destroy Company Apparel?

What Happens with the Donations?

Other Questions??

What Can and Cannot be Recycled

Helpful Tips

Bag Donations

Torn or Stained Items

Wet or Smelly Items

Unaccepted Items

Other Questions

Why Choose a Conscious Closet? Less is Best

A Capsule Wardrobe

Choose Quality over Quantity

Clothing is Not Garbage

Used Clothing Etiquette

Clean Your Clothes, No Exceptions

Remove Personal Belongings and Detritus

Tie Your Shoes Together

Mend and Repair

Never Leave Your Donations Outside Unattended

R-E-S-P-E-C-T and Gratitude

Use It Up

Wear It Out

Make It Do

Do Without

The Spectrum of Consumption

A Short History

Why Rags?

Wipers Today

Textile Recycling

“Grade 1” – Donation Sorting

Grade 2 – Grading Facilities

The Final “Grade” – Overseas Vendors

Making the Cut

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