From a Guest Blogger: How to Recycle Your Ill-Fitting Clothes

A changing body shape may be cause for celebration or concern, but either way your current wardrobe needn’t be the source of frustration. If you’ve discovered you no longer fit into your favourite frocks or much-loved jeans, think about doing your bit for the environment and recycling them for further use! If you’re new to recycling your clothes, here’s a look at how to go about it:

Give to charity

Let’s start by suggesting you use your unneeded garments for the good of others! It couldn’t be simpler to take your clothes to the local charity shop and donate them. Not only will your pre-loved wear find a new owner, but you’ll raise much needed funds for charity too. You can also look out for textiles banks put in place by large charities like Oxfam and Scope, typically in supermarket car parks. Simply pop your old clothes in and they’ll be collected to be sold in their charity stores or taken directly to those in need. Be thoughtful when donating to charity and refrain from giving them ripped or stained and dirty items. If you’ve got a lot to donate, a top tip is to take it all along in a suitcase and save yourself the struggle of carrying several dustbin bags!

Sell your stuff

Could you do with a little extra income? It’s never been easier to sell clothes for cash online. You could go down the obvious route of auction site or classified ad listings, but this requires a lot of time and consideration (pricing items up, taking photos and writing a description). Or, you could try new forms of cash for clothes schemes which allow you to simply ship off your items in a batch and wait for payment to come through! How much money you’ll get depends on the quality of goods and any designer name tags, but if you want a quick and easy solution to profitable recycling this is definitely the way to go.

Another way to make money from your old clothes is to get down to your local car boot sale and showcase your inner salesman. Not quite as convenient as selling from your sofa but can be a lot of fun!

Fashion DIY

Give your ill-fitting clothes a new lease of life with a little bit of imagination and TLC. If you’ve got a creative side, you’ll find a wealth of DIY tutorials and videos to fashion your old clothes into something new – from turning a maxi dress into a mini skirt to making a denim handbag out of your old skinny jeans. Pinterest is a great place to get started and be inspired!

Use for cleaning

Forget buying professional cleaning cloths, old clothes make super handy cleaning accessories. Cut up your old sweaters and t-shirts to make cheap and effective dusters/wipes that you can throw away or bung in the wash. If you’ve got slogan prints tops or knitwear that’s gone out of style, consider keeping a few items by for painting jobs and gardening.