12 Rules to Dress By – January Update

A quick update on my progress with following the “12 Rules to Dress By” challenge.

I spent January de-cluttering my home and wardrobe and I did not need to buy any new clothes. I dropped off several items at a textile recycling bank in my neighborhood – approximately 25 pieces of clothing. Quite a few of those items were damaged or otherwise unwearable, so I put them into a separate bag from those that could potentially be donated to charity. For my donations, I had to be pretty ruthless because there were some clothes that I was holding onto, telling myself I might just need to wear them one day when I haven’t for years.

Today I was reading on Style Eyes Ethical Blog about what Oxfam does with clothes that can’t be sold at the shop and learned that Oxfam is the only major charity to operate its own clothing recycling plant, called Wastesaver. Oxfam states on its website that “80 tonnes of clothing a week into around 100 different grades depending on garment type, condition, style and fabric… Donations that cannot be sold in the UK market for various reasons can be exported to markets in Europe, Africa or Asia in line with our ethical supply policy. ”

If you find yourself needing to dispose of any damaged or stained clothing, then you can avoid tossing them in the rubbish bin and instead drop them off at either your nearby textile recycling bank, or your closest Oxfam to be sold to recycling traders for use in car soundproofing materials or mattress stuffing.

Further Reading:

Style Eyes Ethical Blog – Oxfam Fashion Blogger’s Meet Up: http://ethicalfashionblog.com/2012/02/12/oxfam-fashion-bloggers-meet-up/

Oxfam Wastesaver – Donate Goods: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/shops/wastesaver.html?cid=rdt_wastesaver