Clothing is one of the biggest industries in the entire world. Textiles are universal around the world, and everyone needs something to wear. Everyday clothes, work uniforms, and more are part of the textiles industry, and the United States in particular is an enormous consumer and producer of textiles. Everyday Americans own more clothes than ever before, but sometimes, Americans choose to throw their old clothes away rather than donate them. Charity drives are always welcoming more donations, such as military charities or charities for families in need. Today’s consumers are urged to take their unwanted old clothes to military charities or veterans charities, and clothing donations are always welcome. Charities for military families and families in need are nearly always open and ready for donations. A person can do a lot of good when they bring their old clothes to donations pick up sites rather than toss them into the trash. How often to American donate to military charities or other support organizations? How can rates of waste be curbed?

Donations and Waste

The good news is that it is always possible for Americans to start donating more clothes to military charities and other humanitarian efforts, especially since current rates of clothing waste are fairly high. It has been determined, for example, that the average American throws away 82 pounds of textile waste every year, and this can add up fast. Nearly 12 million tons of old clothing ends up being thrown away every single year, with all those old clothes taking up space in landfills. Those old clothes aren’t doing anyone any good there. In fact, textiles currently has a low reclamation rate. Only around 15% of the many textiles produced in the United States each year end up recycled or donated, and the rest is sent right to the landfill.

Americans do have a charitable spirit, however, and a lot of clothes are indeed donated to military charities and other causes. Back in 2007, for example, some $5.8 billion worth of clothing was sent to charities and donations causes, and this number may be even higher now. Most Americans, around 95.4% of them, take part in charitable giving at some level or other, and all this shows that Americans often have charity on their mind. Increasing donations to charities, and reducing rates of clothing waste, may be a matter of stoking that charitable spirit. There are easy steps that anyone can take so that they contribute to clothing charity, and this can make all the difference when enough people decide to improve their donations efforts. Charity is always an option, after all.

Steps for Donating

A household interested in donating old clothes and accessories to charity can follow a simple but effect procedure to get this work done. First, all members of a household can gather all clothing from across the house and assemble it all into a single, large pile on the floor. This creates a convenient, comprehensive inventory that allows everyone to see how much clothing they have, and of what type. Everything should be in this assembly: shirts and pants, dresses, shoes and boots, gloves, coats, scarves, even hats.

Once this comprehensive inventory is formed, the family members can start picking through the pile and determine what will be kept, and what will be set aside for charity. Old clothes that are worn out, the wrong size, redundant with better items, or out of fashion may all be designated for charity. This applies for items of all different kind. Clothing set aside for charity can be sealed in bags or boxes, and the rest can be returned to the wardrobe. In some cases, a household might even end up with under half their original wardrobe, or even under a third. As an added benefit, this results in a more streamlined, purposeful wardrobe at home.

Now, a person can take the boxes or bags of old clothes and deliver them to a local charity site (this may involve looking it up online first). The charitable person can follow any additional on-site instructions, and the work is done. The donor might even get a tax write-off form for the clothes that they donated, which acts as a bonus for charity work.