Here in the United States as well as in many different places all throughout the world, waste is a growing problem. In fact, the average person here in this country alone is likely to throw away up to 70 pounds of textile products on an annual basis, ten pounds of this waste made up of clothing alone. Unfortunately, only around 15% of all textiles are recycled instead of thrown away – but rates of consumerism of such products is now higher than ever before.

The data that has been gathered on this subject more than backs up this startling and alarming claim, showing that the average adult here in the United States buys twice of what they did even just 20 years ago, a mere two decades, and especially when it comes to clothing consumption. To further put this into perspective, it has also been found that the average woman of the United States, who had only 9 outfits about a century ago, will now have as many as 30 outfits. Much like it is with general textiles, however, less than 20% of all discarded clothing is simply thrown away instead of recycled.

Fortunately, there are steps we can take to prevent this massive amount of waste from being contributed to an already significant waste problem, and the solution frequently lies in used clothing donations. Used clothing donations are ideal fro a number of reasons. Of course, used clothing donations keep clothing out of landfills with as much as nearly 5 billion pounds of it given to clothing drop off sites and other local clothing donations venues on a yearly basis in this country alone. In addition to this, more than two and a half billion pounds of other such fabric were kept from ending up in landfills back in the year of 2006, now more than ten years ago. This number, fortunately, has only continued to grow and grow in the years that have transpired since.

Used clothing donations, of course, are also hugely beneficial when it comes to helping out communities in need. The places to send used clothing donations are many, ranging from the American Red Cross to green charities to charities geared at helping military families in need. After all, there are simply so many different groups of people that could benefit from used clothing donations – there is really no reason to throw your old clothing away instead of donating it, at the end of the day. After all, the process of making used clothing donations often just means dropping the used clothing donations in question off at a donation pick up location, of which there are many from community to community and all throughout the country.

However, it’s still important to note that not all used clothing donations are actually worn again as clothing. In fact, less than half (around 45%, to be more precise and exact) actually are. However, used clothing donations are still valuable, as are used textile donations of another nature, and such donations can be repurposed in different ways if they aren’t seen fit to be resold as is. Such textiles and used clothing donations often become everything from the filling for various types of furniture to factory rags in various areas of manufacturing all throughout the country.

But how do you know when it’s become time to give your clothing away in the form of used clothing donations? Ideally, you’ll part with anything that doesn’t fit you correctly anymore, or anything that is no longer in keeping with your personal style and how you seek to present yourself. In addition to this, you can also push yourself to get rid of anything you haven’t worn in at least 6 months (if you live in a one to two season climate, as is common in many parts of the country and the world), as these are objects that are likely no longer a top priority for you. This process can help you to declutter your home and get ahold of what you truly own and need.