don't trash your stash

It is estimated that Americans throw away 68lbs of clothing and textiles per person per year! According to the Unites States Census Bureau, the population of America as of August 9th, 2012 is roughly 314,124,798! That's a lot of people. So, let's do the math. At 68 lbs. per person, that comes to a whopping 21,360,486,264 lbs of clothing and textiles wasted! That is just around 10 tons. It's hard to determine exactly how much space that would take up, considering the many different weights of fabrics, but holy shit that is a big number.

 Holy shit!

 And that is just in America, I didn't even factor in all the other countries of the world... but, according to some of my research, we are in the top 5 most wasteful countries in the world.

So, what do we do to reduce this waste? 

I will tell you.

I made a list.

Tell all your friends.

• Donate to Goodwill/ Salvation Army/ St Vincent de Paul's or any other charitable organization. duh. This one should be a no-brainer. Even if it is stained or ripped, someone out there might be able to fix or use it in some way. Give those things some sort of chance at a renewed life.
• Stained or ripped clothing/ bed linens/ towels/ curtains/ etc...
• hem that shit- don't be lazy
• put a patch on it or put a bird on it, i don't care. cover up the flaw and it might even make it way more cool.
• make a re-usable grocery bag
• super easy bag from old tank tops
• sweater bag
• from an old t-shirt
• and another t-shirt bag

boom.

• Dye it a different color. A lot of the time, dying a garment will hide a stain.
• Make a long sleeve shirt a short sleeve; a long skirt a short skirt, pants into shorts, etc... If you can cut away the flaw and still be able to wear your favorite shirt or whatever, than why not do it?
• make mittens and a hat from old sweater
• more old sweater crafts here- stockings, pillows, leg warmers, etc...
• make a rug
• no sew braided rug
• crocheted rug
• from old towels
• make baby clothes
• romper
• nightgown from old t-shirt
• toddler pants
• make quilting squares- if you're into that sorta thing
• make throw pillows- sew a square, put scrap fabric in square- boom- you have a throw pillow
• make accessories
• headband - or bracelet
• necklace

cute

• Dust cloths- this is another no brainer. If your textiles are damaged beyond repair, cut em up and use them to dust your house. duh.
• When in doubt, DON'T THROW IT OUT- you may not be crafty enough to do some of the things on the list, but I bet you know someone who is. Give them your stuff. Crafty people love stuff, especially free stuff. 

This list could seriously go on and on and on. Get creative. Just do your best to try to reduce this type of waste and maybe next year we can see that scary statistic go down.

Whatever you do, DON'T be a lazy asshole.