s/o used clothes etc

[hornblower]

I think some of you might enjoy this 14 min independent documentary called "Unravel" 


It's about what happens to clothing sent for recycling. 

https://aeon.co/videos/this-is-the-final-resting-place-of-your-cast-off-clothing


From a review of the film

 

"Sure, it’s easy to assume that spring cleaning starts with studying up on the KonMari method and ends with dropping your discarded clothing off at the closest donation box. But, not so fast, because there's another, lesser-known step in the recycling process: Where do your cast-offs go after you toss them? This is something many people rarely consider, but a new documentary offers a rare, sobering glimpse into the next phase of the clothing chain......

 

Not surprisingly, many of the workers don't understand why so many Westerners are getting rid of perfectly good clothing." 

[Murphy101]

That was a fun and interesting vid to watch.

 

I've bought recycled yarn from over seas yarn distributors and always wondered how it worked.

 

The perspective on Americans and clothing was both funny and sad.

 

Thanks.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wear clothing until it's dead so it goes in the trash.

 

But yeah I heard about this.  Here someone proposed that that information be more transparent so people can make an informed decision about where to donate their clothing.

 

 

[Murphy101]

Idk. We had a shoe drive in our parish not long ago and I was surprised and disgusted that our parish priest actually had to repeatedly ask people to not donate unusable items. Apparently they'd had a lot of shoes with broken or missing buckles, soles or heels broken or coming off and holey. Just.. What the heck people? Giving someone your trash to wear isn't charitable or helpful, kwim? Most clothing donations are not fit to actually be passed on to someone. People do the same thing with food donations. A lot of the stuff donated the food banks are required by law to throw in the trash. No label, expired, dented or in any manner opened...

 

I only donate clothing in wearable condition bc to me the entire point is that I'm donating something to someone who needs to wear it.

 

If it's stained up, holey, missing buttons and such... I repurpose or trash it.

 

I usually donate to catholic charities bc I trust them.

 

I don't know that I'd entirely have a problem with the clothes also being put to use as recycling. Beats a land fill. And I'm not against such businesses other than wishing they were in America. I wouldn't mind having somewhere I could send them locally for recycling either. Sorta like when I take empty soda cans in and get paid around .25 a pound. Sure I'm not going to ever make money off it, but if dh insists on drinking Pepsi, at least this way about every 6 months I get $20 out of it and it finds a useful purpose other than being trash.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I've encountered similar things with food drives I've helped with Murphy.  There is always a few who donate bulging rusted cans or opened packages of food.  They will take stuff past dates in cans, but come on nothing that's so hazardous one might need a tetanus shot after touching it.