Is Clothing Recyclable?
textiles • Textile Fabric
Clothing should never go in recycling bins, but can be donated, resold, or recycled at textile collection programs. Even worn-out clothing can be recycled into insulation or rags.
Donate wearable clothes to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or local charities. For damaged items, use textile recycling bins or H&M/Patagonia take-back programs.
Preparation Steps:
Clean and dry clothes are preferred for donation. Damaged items still have value for textile recycling.
As a last resort, dispose in trash. But 95% of textiles can be reused or recycled.
H&M and Patagonia offer in-store recycling. Many cities have textile collection bins. For-M collects for resale and recycling.
No local option for worn-out clothing and textiles? Mail it in.
If nothing near you takes it, TerraCycle’s Fabrics and Clothing Zero Waste Box is a mail-in program: you fill the box, ship it back with the label inside, and the contents get processed instead of landfilled.
- Prepaid shipping label in the box
- Everything sent back is recycled, not landfilled
- Sized for a household, an office or a school
Zero Waste Boxes are a paid product, not a free drop-off. Price depends on the box size and what you are recycling.
- Buy quality items that last
- Repair instead of replace
- Buy secondhand
- Clothing swaps
- Rent formal wear