Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Giving New Life to Old Clothing
By NYC Department of Sanitation
Every year, NYC residents throw away approximately 200,000 tons of clothing, towels, blankets, curtains, shoes, handbags, belts, and other textiles and apparel. That’s nearly the weight of 900 Statues of Liberty — or 6 percent of all residential waste thrown out, according to our most recent Waste Characterization Study.
When these items are tossed in the trash, they are trucked to waste transfer facilities within your borough, and then shipped out of the city on barges, rail cars or both, some making a journey as far away as South Carolina. While we do whatever we can to green this process, transporting waste puts harmful greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, adds to the expense to New York City taxpayers, and takes up space in landfills.
There is a better, greener way. Actually, New Yorkers have several ways to responsibly dispose of their textile waste. Here are a few options:
- donateNYC is a platform that connects New Yorkers looking to donate clothing — or just about anything — to nonprofits in the five boroughs. By donating and reusing clothing and other goods, New Yorkers can greatly reduce waste, conserve energy and resources, save money, and help provide jobs and human services for New Yorkers in need. An essential part of NYC’s Zero Waste Goals, donateNYC has three online tools that help residents, nonprofit organizations and businesses increase their reuse efforts.
- refashionNYC is a free and convenient clothing donation and recycling service, now celebrating its 10th anniversary. Tax receipts are available on the bin. Our partnership with Housing Works provides convenient collection while fighting the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS. We’ll visit your building to discuss how many bins you’d like, what sizes are best and where they should be placed. Buildings simply call or email for a free pick up when the bin is full.
- You can also bring clothing or textiles to one of NYC’s many reuse and swap events and take home something new-to-you. Visit the donateNYC Events Calendar to find upcoming events near you.
- In addition, donateNYC has also announced the expansion of the GrowNYC Stop ’N’ Swaps® Program. In coordination with DSNY, GrowNYC will host a Stop ’N’ Swaps® in every community board district between Fall 2021 and Summer 2022. These reuse swaps are free community events where the public is invited to bring clean, reusable, portable items such as clothing, housewares, games, books, and toys that you no longer need, and take home something new-to-you, free! You don’t have to bring something to take something. (We ask that you do NOT bring furniture, large items, tube televisions, expired or open food, unsealed personal care products, medicine, dirty or ripped clothing, fabric scraps, incomplete toys and games, non-working electronics, magazines or sharp objects.) Stay tuned here for a schedule of events.
Second-hand clothing is often stylish and on-trend. To highlight secondhand and sustainable fashion across New York City, donateNYC and the Sanitation Foundation host an annual ReFashion Week NYC. Check out more online!
Finally, we remind New Yorkers that the “reduce, reuse, recycle” motto is deliberately in that order. The most meaningful action we can take when it comes to waste is to reduce the amount we use in the first place. In the last several months, the media have reported several pieces on the detrimental effects of “fast fashion” — cheap, trendy clothing that is worn a few times and disposed of in favor of the next trend. Focusing on quality over quantity when buying clothing can help lessen your carbon footprint.
And when you are ready to dispose of textiles, please, don’t send them to a landfill. Give your clothing new life by exploring the many options for reuse and recycling right here in New York City.
