Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose Second-Hand Clothes
What other necessary means can be available so that People can more easily Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose their Second-Hand Clothes
Improved communication- communication is considered as the most vital tool in ensuring effective implementation of approaches in society. If manufacturing organisations and governments as a whole provide better avenues for creating awareness on the suitable use of garments, people are likely to change how they handle their textile and cloth materials after use. For instance, manufacturing companies ensuring that all their product have labels containing information on usage, storage, type of detergent to be used while washing the specific garment, how to dispose of the garments after use could potentially help people to practice sustainable handling of their garments. If people are aware of the benefits of their used or worn-out clothes, they will recycle and repurpose more.
Convenient waste collection points- the location of waste collection points, influences peoples waste disposal behaviours significantly. People find it hard to travel for long distances to discard waste products, and thus they end up disposing of them carelessly polluting the environment. Installation of waste collection points at proximity to people’s dwellings, near shopping centres, and along the roads can be a significant boost to the collection of wastes for recycling and repurposing. To make the collection points more convenient, manufacturers, municipals, and waste collection agencies should label all the waste collection bins against the different type of wastes. Proper labelling of collection bins will help people identify which bins are designated for second-hand clothes and thus enhance easier sorting of collected wastes and increase recycling and repurposing of garments.
Production of reusable garments- manufacturing of materials with reusable properties will help reduce the reliance on disposable products. For instance, productions of cloth napkins will help nursing mothers abandon the use of nylon napkins since the cloth napkins can be washed and reused severally before they can get worn-out. Use of reusable products will also help reduce the bulk of trash in peoples dwellings, making them realise the importance of using materials that can be recycled or reused whether clothing or any other household material. Complete elimination of the use of disposable materials might take longer time, but in the long run, it will impact people’s lives and the environment positively.
Superior tailoring technology- mostly people fail to repair their worn out clothes because of tailors’ inability to fix it in a way that the improved cloth can still be attractive. If tailors are equipped with advanced technics on how to modify worn-out attires by putting design patches, people will potentially consider repairing their tattered clothes, which is cheaper as compared to purchasing new attires. Improved reforming of attires will significantly increase the amount of recycled and repurposed clothes.
More emphasis on second-hand markets- sometimes people discard clothes in right conditions which can be of use to other people. Introduction of more second-hand markets will motivate people to sell their old clothes in those markets and also more people will consider buying second-hand garments since they are considerably cheaper as compared to new ones. When people shop second-hand, they will give someone else’s old clothes a new life and not only save money but also help people make some profit from their unwanted attires.
Introduction of goods swapping centres- in this case, people will be able to exchange their unwanted materials with other people’s unwanted materials without any money transactions. For instance, people can form online swap sites where people will be posting their unwanted attires to swap with other peoples unwanted attires. This approach will be a win-win strategy as it will not be only safe purchasing costs, but also contribute to better repurposing and reusing of clothes which will, in turn, reduce the number of threats posed by discarded clothes on the environment.
Adopting a sharing economy- sharing economy advocates for the use of one product my multiple individuals. For instance, people with carpets in their houses need a vacuum cleaner, but that does not mean they use the vacuum cleaner every day. So individuals leaving in the same estate can opt to buy just one vacuum cleaner to be shared amongst themselves and save money. In the case of repurposing and reusing of garments, people can purchase communal tents, which will be shared among all the people in the community during functions instead of family tents. This approach will reduce the number of worn-out tent garments on the environment and also enhance better reuse of garments.
Creative reuse of our unwanted and torn garments- obviously people reuse items such as shopping bags to serve the same purpose they were bought for, but some of the materials cannot be reused for their original purpose. For instance, a sweater with moth-eaten sleeves cannot serve the same purpose it is intended to, but it can be modified into a vest and thus avoid throwing it away. Jeans torn at their knees can be changed into shorts or maybe tote bags. These acts of creative reuse of worn-out garments will help multiply the efforts through which people can recycle, repurpose and reuse their second-hand clothes.
Multipurpose garments- manufacturing of clothing materials with multiple functions can significantly reduce the bulk purchase of cloth products. Versatile clothing materials will reduce the amount of discarded cloth wastes on the environment and importantly enhance the reuse of materials. For instance, manufacturers can produce bedding materials with multiple purposes like a mattress cover which, apart from covering the mattress can also serve as the bed sheet. This initiative will adversely improve reuse of products since it will be cost-effective to consumers. Other products which can be produced for multiple uses can include female fashions such as tops can be made in a way that they can serve both their intended purpose and also as brassieres.
Why people are not repurposing their clothes
The growth of fast fashion- fast fashion focuses on producing new cloth designs every day at affordable prices. More attractive and affordable fashion designs make people desire to clear their wardrobes and fill them with the latest arrivals. Mostly, people do not care about where to dispose of their unwanted clothes. Instead, they are only focused on moving with fashion. For instance, when you visit a cloth market place daily, you will always find crowds of people shopping for this new arrivals due to their pocket-friendly prices. If the fast fashion industry is not modified, people will continue to consider buying new garments due to their affordability instead of repairing or repurposing their unwanted clothing’s.
Lack of awareness on what to do with unwanted clothes- most people are not aware of what to do with their unwanted or outdated clothing’s. Instead, they end up throwing them out carelessly without knowing the benefits they can accrue from such garments. For instance, if you walk in most crowded residual areas, you will come across discarded clothes in right conditions, and if you attempt to ask the residents why they carelessly dispose of their clothes, they will say claim they do not know what to do with such apparel. People are not aware of the possible methods of handling their unwanted garments such as donating or using them for alternative purposes.
Lifestyle differences- the class difference in society dictates several individual’s lifestyle behaviours even in how people handle their clothes. For instance, reach people, mostly the youths find it awkward to be seen using the same type of garment, also if it is for different purposes. Instead, they end up burning their old or unwanted clothes and replacing them with new ones. Young people love the idea of being unique every day in terms of what they wear, so they end up purchasing too much of clothing satisfy their design desires and impress the world and thus at the end, they have bulk garments which does not impress them anymore. Only a few youths donate their unwanted apparels, while the rest end up either burning them or discarding their unwanted attires in landfills.
Irresponsibility- people who cannot be accounted for in implementing initiatives create problems in all aspects of life. Some individuals fear responsibilities of any kind, even without knowing the benefits they can gain by taking part in something. Some people argue that they cannot help the government sanitise the environment unless they are paid, so instead, they opt for making it hard for the authorities to achieve their mandate. For example, you can find people disposing their unwanted or torn garments on the roadside, in the argument that it is not their responsibility to ensure a clean environment.
Implications stopping people from better repurposing their clothes
Inconvenient waste collection points- when people are not able to trace the location of waste collection bins, they feel demoralised in their effort to donate their unwanted garments for repurposing or recycling. You can find people are walking for long distances to take their unwanted clothing to collection points since it’s a voluntary decision, many people tend to opt out and instead dispose of their garments in other ways such as burning or landfilling. The inconvenience can derail peoples urge to repurpose their garments and thus stop them from suitable repurposing.
Lack of transparency in charity organisations- many people donate their clothes to charity organisations hoping that those garments will be distributed to those in need, but if they find out that, their donations are given to wrong target population, they mostly stop donating and even decide to discard the clothes. Sometimes, people decide to give out their unwanted clothes not because they want to repurpose them, but because they want to help. So slight lack of openness in the charity organisations can potentially decide to accumulate their unwanted attires, which later end up in landfills or is burned.
Lack of creative cloth repurposing techniques- individuals, can be determined to repurpose their worn-out or outdated attires, but they end up lacking the unique creativity in modifying the unwanted garments into better materials. Lack of options on how to handle unwanted garments makes people choose unsuitable repurposing methods and thus failing to the beauty of repurposed materials. For example, people may fail to know that a sweater with torn sleeves can be converted into a vest and instead convert it into a rag, despite that they could have first used it as a vest then after the jacket is worn out, they now turn it to a cloth.
Lack of better alternatives in sorting and treating their clothes- sorting and treatment of clothes is a crucial factor in determining the extent at which a garment can either be reused, recycled, or repurposed. Sometimes, people are not able to establish how best they can sort their clothes without mixing clothes with bleaching colours with other garments. Also, people may find it a challenge to identify suitable detergent for washing their clothes, especially apparel with loose colours like blue jeans. Washing cloths using unsuitable detergents wears out the clothes faster than expected and thus reducing their repurposing capabilities.
How can people act on their own to sort, recycle, and repurpose their clothing?
Proper sorting and treatment of garments- people can play a critical part in handling clothing materials through proper sorting and treatment. People can always make sure they read the garment label of instructions before using them to avoid using them for unintended purposes which may reduce their durability and also individuals should be keen on the types of detergents they use to wash their garments to avoid staining or accelerating the life span of the garment. The choice of the washing soap should always be based on the garment’s care label instructions to prevent discolouring or to reduce the durability of the attire. To add on proper sorting and treatment of clothes people can also ensure they separate white nylon clothes from the other white cloths to evade contaminating the attires with colours from different fabrics
Proper sorting and treating of clothes will help people maintain the desired durability of their garments and thus preserve the clothes requirements for reusing, repurposing and possible recycling.
Change of purchasing behaviours- peoples’ cloth purchasing behaviour can significantly impact his or her cloth sorting, recycling and repurposing habits. People tend to shop to satisfy their desires and thus ending up with the bulk of unwanted garments in their houses. So if people can shift their purchasing behaviour from quantity and affordability to purchasing less but with quality, and also people can emphasise less on great deals and put more emphasis on products that are more durable and repairable. Buying quality and durability will help people minimise the number of times they shop for new garments and in doing so, ensure they have clothes which can easily be reused, repurposed or recycled after their original purpose.
People can also practice creativity in cloth repurposing- unwanted or torn garments can be utilised to produce other desired materials without involving much knowledge. People can come up with better ways of handling their old or worn-out attires to ensure proper reuse or repurposing. For instance, people can repurpose their old or unwanted clothes by turning them into other useful materials such as converting worn-out t-shirts into either tote bags, halter tops, quilts, cleaning rags or pet bedding, sweaters with torn sleeves can be modified into vests or sleeveless working tops. If people practice creativity on how they handle their old and worn-out garments can considerably improve one’s efforts in ensuring better repurposing of attires and thus enhance the global efforts in the advocacy for better repurposing practices of our clothes.
Governments inputs towards proper reuse, recycling and repurposing of garments
Across the world, several governments are paying much attention to reusing, recycling and repurposing of textile and apparel wastes to curb their increasing levels on the environment. To strengthen governments emphasis on the importance of reuse, recycle and repurposing of clothing several states have come up with mitigation initiatives such as the following;
Establishment of an organization that will find a way to recycle, reuse or repurpose second-hand clothes-Governments are advocating for manufacturing firms that consider using garment wastes as the primary raw materials for their production processes. Use of second-hand as raw materials for production purposes gives room for extensive recycling of unwanted or worn out clothes and in return reducing the overreliance on extracting virgin raw materials and in doing so, this helps governments preserve their available natural resources for future generations. Through these organisations focused on reusing, recycling and repurposing of second-hand clothes, governments will be able to demonstrate to its citizens on the benefits of trading on goods produced from second-hand clothes.
Introduction of cloth waste management centres in local cities- these centres will provide the proper guidelines on what people should do with their unwanted or worn-out garments apart from discarding them. In these centres, governments can provide free training sessions to people on proper ways of sorting, recycling, and repurposing of their garments. Through centres, local towns and cities will be able to minimise the amount garment wastes on their environs and thus help in creating a sustainable surrounding.
Legal bodies governing reuse, recycling and repurposing of clothes- through the formulation of rules and regulations governing the handling of garment wastes, governments can ensure sustainability in the clothing and textile industries. These legislations should be able to bar manufactures who do not comply with the reusing, repurposing and recycling of second-hand clothes. Elimination of unsustainable apparel productions leads to lots of benefits such as reduced energy exploitation, decrease in the exploitation of new raw materials, cost-efficient manufacturing processes and establishment of a sustainable surrounding. These will lead to the preservation of ecosystem services for future generations.
Governments need to enhance efficient awareness to all its population on the best practices of clothing products. The knowledge should cover garment processing, purchase habits, usage procedures and disposal mechanisms. Governments need to educate its citizens on which garments to purchase based on the raw materials used, for instance, states can inform people on the benefits of purchasing recycled products over the virgin products to both the current and future generations. People need to be made aware on how to use their textile and clothing materials, for example, the government need to emphasise on the importance of reading products labels before use as it will help consumers be aware on proper sorting and treatment of their garments to preserve the garments durability. Governments should also train their citizens on the suitable methods of disposing of their garments, by educating them on reuse, recycling or repurposing clothing. All these government awareness of its population will be critical in establishing a society that cares for the safety of its surrounding through their day to day activities.
Finally, without criticizing the efforts made by several governments, organizations and individuals towards reuse, recycling and repurposing of textile and cloth wastes, we can grasp that, sustainable procedures in the textile and clothe industries through reuse, repurposing and recycling of wastes can be of great benefit to both the current world and future generations. Proper implementation of reuse, recycling and repurposing of wastes will help preserve the scarcely available natural resources such as minerals, clean water and also maintain a sustainable environment for both current and future generations.