Most Americans have an almost obscene amount of clothing and other fabrics around the house that consistently go unused. It’s probably safe to say that we spend more on clothing in America than other countries. We have closets full of things we don’t ever wear and when we get around to thinking about it, we decide we should probably just throw it all away.
At the same time, Americans are some of the most generous people on the planet. We might be extremely busy, but we want to do what we can to help others. And it is because of the fact that we are extremely busy that we might not even think about the best way to get rid of our unwanted and used clothing. When we think about it, we want to give to charities, but we might not know to whom we should give and how much. We ask ourselves questions like, “What are the best charities to donate to?”
In 2014, $358.38 billion dollars was given in charitable donations. We are a giving people.
So, if you have more than you want or need when it comes to clothing, it might interest you to know that your clothing donations and household donations in general help support our veterans, those among us who are blind, and the environment in general. The Purple Heart Veterans pick up used clothing and fabric that would otherwise be completely wasted in landfills.
There were 2.5 billion pounds of fabric kept out of landfills in 2006. This was done with used clothes donations by people who took the time to separate their unwanted clothing, make a quick phone call and have a group like the Purple Heart Veterans pick up their unwanted but gently used clothing.
Every week, groups like GreenDrop prevent used electronics, clothing, and other household good from being thrown into landfills. Just because you look at an item and think that it no longer has any use for you doesn’t mean that others around the world cannot find some use for it. Many developing countries have found new uses for over 14.3 million tons of donated American textiles, and more can be done.
In America, roughly 4.7 billion tons of clothing are donated every year. That’s amazing! At the same time, 10.5 million tons of clothing and fabric are sent to landfills every year. That’s not a good thing and we could do better.
The next time you’re looking through your closet and are trying to decide what to do with everything you no longer wear, take a moment and consider donating to a charity that can do so much with what you no longer want. The Purple Heart Veterans pick up your donation and put your old things to good use.
On average, Americans buy twice as many pieces of clothing as they did 20 years ago. It won’t be long before something you’ve bought no longer catches your fancy. If you hate it, why not donate it?
