Is recycling your old clothes worth it?

[tiggy]

I am not best pleased about charity shop pricing policy and chucking stuff out.I do still try to support them but will not be paying mad prices for stuff.I wear my clothes till they fall to bits and then the ragbag awaits .the only way out of that is as a rag rug or a cleaning cloth.I repair our clothes if i can to get maximum life out of them.

[hamster]

I think charity shops just haven't kept pace with what's happened in fashion over the last few years. Back when a decent pair of trousers would have cost you upwards of £20, say, (my, I sound old!) getting second hand ones for £5/£6 was a real bargain, but now with places like Pr*mark and supermarkets selling clothes so cheaply, you could buy a new one for the cost of one in a charity shop, or for not much more. I also think the more expensive shops have had to cut prices (and costs) to compete, so they don't produce as good quality stuff as they used to and it then doesn't seem quite so worth the premium, even second hand...

[Mrs Wombat]

Red in Aus. those plastic bags for charity things have disappeared as research into them found they were just pocketing the money and the charities were getting nothing or very little. We have been charity shoppers for years some of Wombats best books came from there. And over the years most of my jeans, some really great coats etc. The best ish thing I got was an old pram which I stripped and turned into a shopping trolley. We live walking distance from the local shops and its eliminated the need for any sort of bag as well as saving my arthritic back as I no longer have to carry heavy bags back from the shop. I've also taken out the crate I put the groceries in and put in the cat carrier to take the cat to the vet. Got quite a laugh as Poesje knows the cat carrier and I had a cat siren all the way to the vet. I'll check into where the excess goes. They do get a little pricey with some items though which they decide are antique instead of just old. This is not always the case and can be quite a rip off if your not careful. Our largest is the Salvation Army and as long as the money is going to those who really need it. I don't mind.

[ina]

The local Red Cross shops still seem pretty good value; most of the others are getting more and more expensive, and the quality of the stuff on offer gets worse. Books are often downright tatty, and they charge £2 for an old paperback... Most annoyingly, these paperbacks often have the price sticker of another charity still on them, where they were cheaper! And the last few times I looked for books, the shelves were half empty. Is it going out of fashion to donate your books? Are people selling more on e-bay? Wouldn't blame them...

[Urban Ayisha]

i find the attitude of some of the staff working at these shops unwavering, too. My dear Mum still always barters with them i'm just too scardey to do it! Perhaps if people simply 'speak up' there'll be a change?

[missy]

when ever i visit my mother i like to go to the local sobell house charity shop... i always buy books either 3 for £1 or 4 for £1

and when i've finished with a book i pass it on to a friend or relative to read, so it gets used again.

[missy]

when ever i visit my mother i like to go to the local sobell house charity shop... i always buy books either 3 for £1 or 4 for £1

and when i've finished with a book i pass it on to a friend or relative to read, so it gets used again.

[pouch]

interesting article, I made a pledge at the new year that i wouldn't buy anymore new clothes in 2008, so far I've stuck to it, but I have bought some stuff from charity shops. Increasingly you see clothes that are practically unworn.

Unfortunately it's not just charity shops that are guilty of waste...

I worked in well known high street store about 8 years ago when I was a student and when someone returned an item, but it had been worn (e.g. if it smelt of perfume), it was put into a large crate. At the end of the month a shop assistant was asked by the manager to cut up these clothes and put them in the bin. The first time I was asked to do this, I was dumbstruck. I couldn't belive they didn't donate them to a children's home or foster kids or something. The clothes were virtually unworn. The worst thing was we had to cut the clothes up in the changing rooms in front of customers, they would be horrified too. I'm not sure if that particular shop still does that, but it seemed like a crazy policy to me.

I love working with vintage and recycled fabric, but I read on someone's blog that as cheaper fabrics are used, it will become harder to recycle clothes into other things because the fabric will be cr*p. Some of the vintage fabric I use is 30-40 years old and it is still in fabulous condition, I wonder if many modern mass-produced fabrics will be usuable in 30-40 years?

[Flo]

Some of the modern clothes aren't usable after 30 - 40 weeks and then the charity shop is supposed to be able to sell them

We are making ourselves an environmental problem for the quite near future in the production of cheap clothes for outlets like Primark and it's competitors. People have different values at the moment and seem to be more interested in owning a cheap and chuck wardrobe rather than a few items which will last and look good.

[Michelle]

Thanks for posting this article - I found it really interesting. I've only just started buying from charity shops but am finding some things are certainly more expensive than primark and no better quality - and so much of it is brand new.

I have to admit I used to be a fast cheap fashion addict, buying a new wardrobe from hennes every season. In the last few years I have become allergic to all new fabrics (partly the formaldehyde and pesticides they are doused in, partly the dyes) and have been wearing the same old clothes for 4 years now. It has just got to the point where it is getting embarrasing as they are falling apart so I thought charity shops would be the answer - but it is so hard to find anything, so much of the stuff is just too new still I'm having a nightmare! I'm currently trying ebay but finding the same thing. People only sell barely worn stuff and I can't go near it without feeling ill.

But, as difficult as it is, I would never go back to buying new clothes now I know what they are covered in and what damage they do to the environment - isn't it like a third of all pesticides that are used in the world are used in cotton growing? The only new stuff we buy now is organic cotton. It doesn't seem to be as bad (no formaldehyde added) so my husband wears it for his work but I still can't wear it - i think it's the dyes. It's really expensive too.

Sorry, I seem to have gone off topic a bit. What a mess we are making of everything. I was so pleased to buy cheap new stuff when I was a student. You just don't think about the consequences - how it was grown, who made it, the chemicals you absorb from it, where it will end up

[Michelle]

The worst thing was we had to cut the clothes up in the changing rooms in front of customers, they would be horrified too. I'm not sure if that particular shop still does that, but it seemed like a crazy policy to me.

You know, I'm sure I've seen that before! I remember thinking what a strange thing it was to do! - can't believe they were just returns!!!

[ina]

The only new stuff we buy now is organic cotton. It doesn't seem to be as bad (no formaldehyde added) so my husband wears it for his work but I still can't wear it - i think it's the dyes. It's really expensive too.

Doesn't need to be expensive; get away from the fashion stuff and buy basics. Greenfibres, for example, had ordinary t-shirts (very good quality) on special last year for £8. OK, only in three colours; but I bought two of each, and that'll do me for the next 3 years at least!
And you can get undyed clothes; natural colour grown cotton, other natural organically grown fibres with different shades of colour; wool products in different natural colours - there's a company that sells organic rare breed wool - loads of different colours. Wool should be our material of choice, anyway - plenty of it around in this country, no need to import any! It kind of insulates rather than heats you, so even in summer you won't feel hot in thin wool clothing. (Sheep manage fine in their wool, even in Australia!)

Another option for you could be buying everything undyed and then dying it yourself in plant dyes.

[the.fee.fairy]

Does anyone know of an organic cotton seller who sells extra long trousers?

Id love some of the trousrs from ethical superstore etc, but theyre just not long enough!

I need a 35-36" inside leg (im well aware i just broke a forum rule too...bad example i set...).

[ina]

Does anyone know of an organic cotton seller who sells extra long trousers?

And sizes larger than 34 waist???

That's my problem, too - I can find everything else in organic, but trousers are difficult. And making my own jeans is somehow not that easy.

[Michelle]

Thanks for the advice Ina! Currently looking into buying some organic wool and trying to remember how to knit! The rare breeds do indeed have some lovely colours! I'm thinking a dark chocolate cardigan....maybe a tad ambitious when my last project was a dolls scarf when i was ten! My mum knits - she'll show me :)
Will keep my eye open for colour grown cotton too - what a good idea, thank you!