Textile Recycling - is it the solution to our fashion addiction?
Fast fashion has created an excess fabric crisis, where most of it ends up in landfill. Is textile recycling a solution to our fast fashion problem?
Textile recycling is becoming more prominent than ever before with many large companies, such as Patagonia and H&M, encouraging their customers to recycle their clothing. We can encourage companies to produce better quality clothing from more sustainable resources by “voting with our dollar.” Every day we consumers are finding our voice and becoming more conscious of the power we have by speaking up.
What is Textile Recycling?
Textile recycling starts with the collection of clothes and other textiles. Some donated clothing is categorized as donations for Global South countries, others are selected for resale. We know that a lot of work needs to be done to increase the awareness of these recycling programs as only about 12% of our clothes are actually recycled as opposed to disposed of. The problem is that only a fraction of what is donated will be repurposed or resold and the remainder will find their way into our landfills where they will be set to decompose for oftentimes longer than we’ll ever be around to experience.
The process of recycling textile materials is surprisingly labour-intensive - it truly takes a vigilant and skilled team to do the job right. Textiles are pulled apart into the fibres, which as more and more blended materials become common, can make this a long and complicated process. The fibers are then spun into yarn where they are cleaned and mixed through a carding process. Carding is when the yarn goes through a machine to be cleaned and mixed with other fibers leaving you with a smooth end result for further processing. Fibers that are not spun into yarn can become other materials such as filling or stuffing. Unfortunately, there are certain fibers such as polyester or fleece that degrade into microplastics.
Beyond our current solutions, you can look forward to more advanced forms of textile recycling popping up near you! The technologies for fibre recycling are currently being used only on a small scale. Pressure on companies to meet consumer demands is growing and we can soon look forward to having the responsibility fall upon the manufacturers to do better for the environment and ourselves. There are researchers looking into new techniques for recycling certain blends of fabric by feeding them to fungi! This new technique allows a fungus called Aspergillus niger, a black mould that has been found to contain certain enzymes that can break down cotton - leaving a pure polyester fibre that can be recycled into new clothes!
Now What Can We Do About Our Old Clothing?
Worn-out clothes have value to organizations, such as the Canadian Diabetes Foundation or The Salvation Army. These groups sort out unusable clothing and sell it to rag buyers, who sort the material by type, remove buttons and zippers, shred them and turn them into insulation, stuffing for car seats, under padding for carpet, and many other uses.
York University is currently running a study about items collected in Oshawa. This data will be used in a larger, nationally-run study about the impact of waste on municipalities. The program accepts all adult and children's clothing and footwear, including undergarments, towels, pillows, and curtains. Items in all conditions are accepted. You can drop off your stuff in several locations:
Delpark Homes Centre (west parking lot, north/west corner)
Donevan Recreation Centre (west parking lot, north/east corner)
South Oshawa Community Centre (south/west corner of the building)
Civic Recreation Complex
An important part of any action is to inform and educate yourself further on fast fashion, microplastics, and their impact on the environment. Give your clothes to your local textile recycling plant. If that’s not an option, and your clothes are in good condition; donate any clothes that you don’t want to use to your local goodwill; a local Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross, or St. Vincent De Paul. Buy second-hand whenever possible and be sure to get involved! A quick search engine result on “local textile recycling near me” can bring you to places you never knew existed! While it sometimes feels overwhelming, the smallest changes can have a ripple effect on those around you. One person can make an everlasting change, why couldn’t that be you?
For more information, check out these articles about microfibres and textile pollution.
