The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a “green tip” to our readers in each newspaper. This edition’s tip was written by Bonnie Zucker of Resilient Palisades’ Zero Waste Team.
Did you know that approximately 92 million tons of textile waste is generated annually and comprises about 7% of landfill waste? It’s not surprising that so much waste comes from textiles, given that between 80 and 100 billion new clothing items are produced worldwide annually.
If you are concerned about your environmental footprint and you don’t want to further contribute to this textile waste, here are three things that you can do:
1) Change your buying habits. When you want to buy clothes, ask yourself: Do I really need this item? Assess if you will wear something multiple times, and if not, consider not buying it. Shopping at thrift and higher-end consignment stores can also be a way to cut down on textile waste.
2) If you want to buy something for a specific event, consider renting something instead. I was in that situation a couple of weeks ago. I was invited to an event where guests were strongly encouraged to “dress fancy … like you’re at the Met Gala.” After I mentally reviewed the contents of my closet, I realized that nothing fit the bill. Rather than going out and buying something just for this event, I rented a fantastic dress from Rent the Runway. It was a much nicer dress than I would have purchased and was perfect for the event. Rent the Runway also has a subscription service where you can rent all types of clothes and accessories and have five items in your possession at any time. This option might be a great alternative for a work wardrobe.
3) Donate or recycle old textiles. If you have items you no longer want to use that are still in decent shape, don’t throw them in the trash. Instead, donate them to an organization or offer them on the Pacific Palisades Buy Nothing Group on Facebook. You can even donate grungy old towels and blankets to a local animal shelter. If you have other textiles well past their prime and not worthy of donation, find a place that recycles old clothes, such as Suay Sew Shop in Los Angeles. You can also subscribe to Ridwell, which will launch soon in the Palisades, and recycles old textiles.
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