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The average age of my clothing[1] is probably 5-10 years with some items well over 10 years old. Some of my clothes are legal to drink. The idea of buying clot
by ogre_codes 6y ago
The average age of my clothing[1] is probably 5-10 years with some items well over 10 years old. Some of my clothes are legal to drink.
The idea of buying clothes then donate them after 6-12 months has always been broken. With growing kids (or if you gain/ lose a bunch of weight) you don't have a ton of choice. For most adults, the only way you can really ensure you have an environmentally friendly wardrobe is by purchasing carefully and keeping clothes until they genuinely wear out. For jeans and good quality jackets, that can be decades.
When you donate clothes to St Vinny's (Goodwill/ Salvation Army/ whatever), they keep the best/ resealable clothes and dispose of the rest. A bunch gets dumpstered. The only reason they accept used clothing is because of the small percentage they can actually resell.
[1] Excluding underwear and socks!
- starfallg 6y agoIn my experience, the charities usually don't throw those away. Over here in the UK and much of Europe, the charities sell them by the ton to traders that ship them to Africa or other developing countries. Some charities don't even handle them, they enter into a contract with a third party that specialises in the trade that collects the clothes and then pays the charity a fixed amount of money per ton. The whole service is branded, so you would think that you're donating to the charity directly when in fact they are paid by the trader by weight.
- corty 6y agoUsually clothes don't get shipped to developing countries to be used as clothes. They get shredded and used as a source of cotton and other fibres after sorting, e.g. to create stuffing, insulation or paper. Donated stuff is treated the same way, and just the proceeds used as a donation to help the third world. Read the fine print on the used-clothes-bin.
- Nursie 6y agoMy partner is the manager of a red cross shop here in the UK, and it's exactly this - anything not of resale quality (or just too 'personal', like used underwear) goes for 'rag' and they get paid by weight by the rag company. The rag clothes are shredded, IIRC, not sure what for. They also have a book company who have a similar arrangement, they pay a few pence per book, though IIRC they do make use of the books as-is rather than shredding.
- fakedang 6y agoRags can be used to make paper or some forms of packaging.
- convolvatron 6y agoalot of workshops (metal, wood) buy rags for finishing work, etc. At $2/lb it adds up pretty fast.
- ogre_codes 6y agoThis article is basically about how that entire part of the recycling chain is shutting down because it's cheaper to just manufacture new. Regardless, even when they were shipping them out, the environmental cost of shipping and repurposing was always higher than the cost of just using what you had.
- quercusa 6y agoI have a Lick Observatory 100th Anniversary (1988) t-shirt my wife would very much like to get rid of. Not happening.
- dylan604 6y agoI have old concert t-shirts that I'll never wear, but still want to keep even if they are taking up space. A friend of mine suggested having them made into a quilt. This would get them out of the closet/drawer/box, and actually visible.
- alleyshack 6y agoI love this idea! I've kept around a lot of old sentimental value shirts with a similar, albeit more vague, idea of putting them together in some form that makes them visible. Keeps the memories and lets you actually look at/revisit them.
- ogre_codes 6y ago"Have them made into a quilt" Usually this means getting them all together, calling around to find how much it costs to actually make a quilt, then putting them back in storage. Takes a lot more time and effort to make a quilt than people think.
- klodolph 6y agoRight, I think the alternatives are “I have made a quilt before and I’ll do it myself,” or “I’m just going to throw these away or keep them in storage.”
- NegativeLatency 6y agoCould always make the quilt yourself, it's not that hard to make a simple one with big blocks from the shirts.
- Rotten194 6y ago
- r00fus 6y agoThis is good for adults, but kids grow out of stuff - we use the local no-buy groups to trade, or just donate/trade/receive with friends/family. Amused by family pics where I recognize a garment that's older than my oldest kid being worn by the new toddler.
- grecy 6y ago> When you donate clothes to St Vinny's (Goodwill/ Salvation Army/ whatever), they keep the best/ resealable clothes and dispose of the rest By dispose, what you mean is send them to Africa or other undeveloped regions. In virtually all of the 35 African countries I spent time in I would see clothes for sale in local markets that still had (St Vinny's/Goodwill/ Salvation Army) tags on them.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- elindbe2 6y agoI've found synthetic workout clothes last pretty much forever. I have a pair of 15 year old basketball shorts that look about the same as they did brand new whereas the cotton stuff I've bought all would have holes and have faded in color by now.
- puranjay 6y agoSame. I have a workout shirt from when I was 15 (I'm in my 30s now) that has seen literally hundreds, even a thousand+ workouts. However the cotton fabric used in most off the shelf clothing is also not what it used to be. My dad, who doesn't like to throw things away, still has his old clothes from when he was in his 30s (he is in his late 70s now). They've retained their shape far better than my 3 year old clothes.
- redisman 6y agoMost modern clothes take all the possible shortcuts from material to assembly they possibly can to deliver a $30 sweater that holds up until you pay at the checkout. If you want a long lasting one, they’re available from specialty manufacturers but the price will be over $200
- FlyMoreRockets 6y agoOr you buy a nice vintage item, used. They are better made and more affordable.
- crocodiletears 6y agoManufacturers that cater to EMS and Military produce some very durable clothes. Propper's emt pants are currently my go-to.
- KozmoNau7 6y agoWork clothes in general tend to be higher quality and last much longer than fast fashion. A pair of chinos or cotton twill pants from a respected workwear manufacturer is what I would recommend for daily wear.
- qq4 6y agoAre you me? Every article of clothing that has persisted is still in pretty good shape, maybe a little faded at the worst. If anything, over the years I've started to pay more attention to what materials my clothes are made of so they do last. For example I stopped buying any kind of stretchy t-shirt as all of the necks become ribbons within a few months. I have cotton shirts that are 8 years old that look great. Everything wool looks just as good, too; if anything they're more comfortable.
- ogre_codes 6y agoYeah, I discovered a while ago that spending more for good clothing that lasts a long time saves money over the long term versus buying cheaper clothes. I can get 10 years out of a nice Columbia or Carhart flannel, something I pick up on Amazon might be half the cost but it'll be less comfortable and last one season.
- lotsofpulp 6y agoSpending a little more, maybe 2x or 3x. After that, the quality to price ratio is no longer worth it (in my opinion).
- ogre_codes 6y agoYeah, and some brands just charge a premium for the name and the "Fashion". There is definitely more than just "Pay more".
- sokoloff 6y agoI believe that front-loading, horizontal axis washing machines are quite a bit more gentle on clothing. When I switched 2 decades ago, the reduction in lint in the dryer catch was remarkable. They seem good for other reasons as well, but that I almost never wear out clothing is another $$ and ecological benefit.
- TuringNYC 6y agoFun exercise - we look thru old photos (5yrs, 10yrs, 20yrs) and see if we can find any of the same clothing, then, do a new family photo. Same clothes, same pose, similar setting, different year.
- orblivion 6y agoI've tried repairing old clothing (usually paying professionals to do it) and they just keep falling apart eventually.
- ogre_codes 6y agoI've had good luck with shoe repair, salvaged a $120 pair of hiking boots for $25 at the shoe doctor. Often shirts and pants fare less well.
- KozmoNau7 6y agoAll clothes will fall apart from wear, there really isn't a way around it. Some fabrics — such as tweed — are famously long-lasting, but they still wear out eventually. The best thing you can do is buy quality clothing, take good care of it and repair it when necessary, before it wears out completely. That can extend the life of an item significantly, but not indefinitely. Buy good quality wool, wool blends, thick cotton twill, heavy selvedge denim and similar fabrics. They're durable and take repairs well. I've never had much luck with hemp, and linen is too fussy for me, but I'm not ruling them out. If you don't mind synthetic fibers, you can get some very light yet durable clothing. The drawback is that a lot of it will come from outdoor brands and look like it.
- yibg 6y agoI keep roughly the same amount of clothes and get new articles if the existing ones get worn or no longer fits. Typically I'd purchase a few tshirts, socks and underwear at the half a year or a year mark to replace ones I've gotten rid of. Lately though this hasn't been going as well. I think partly due to Covid lock downs I've gained some weight around the middle and some jeans no longer fit. I'm resisting buying replacement jeans hoping to lose the weight instead. Not going well so far.
- neogodless 6y agoI need to figure out where people buy jeans that last! I'm certainly hard on clothes, though jeans don't usually end up being part of cutting up trees and splitting firewood until after the knee holes form... but that still often happens within 2-3 years of purchase. What's the secret?!
- lotsofpulp 6y agoMy next jeans have been fine for a decade. https://www.nextdirect.com/CountrySelect https://www.nextdirect.com/CountrySelect They do look worn, but I don’t care.
- 29083011397778 6y agoI love my raw denim jeans, and assume they're likely better at holding up - certainly moreso than general brands. For work (if style is less of a concern), Duluth Trading makes pants that last an order of magnitude longer than carhartt. A word to the wise though; while my raw denim jeans are several years old now and in good condition, you sounds like you're dramatically harder on your clothes than myself.
- galangalalgol 6y agoI cannot confirm this, but I have been told Dickies last at least as long as duluth.
- 6y ago
- Yizahi 6y agoThis amazes me every time I think about it. I have a few t-shirts with prints that are 15 years old and are still okay-ish, at least for home use, and the prints are still almost undamaged. Or winter boots that just don't break in 10 years or so, I only replace shoelaces every few years. Or a winter jacket which is also good looking at 7 or 8 years old. All that is after daily use during season. Every time I'm like "wow, it's possible to endure for so long".