How to Recycle “Unrecyclables”: Textiles and Fabrics

As the elastic band on your most stretchable wears begin to lose a lot of their stretch, what do you do with them? Some of us immediately throw these pieces in the donation box or cut them into rags. Others might make a D.I.Y. or two and turn it into something newly usable. As for the rest of our wardrobe, it gets tossed in the bin without a second thought.

“Unrecycleables” like old underwear and old, lonely, ripped socks still have a place in this world, outside of the aforementioned options. While textile recycling isn’t established commercially across the United States, companies like Terracycle are now offering ways for individuals to recycle waste in their home sweet home– for free. All it usually takes to get started is a box, a label, and some tape.

Parade Free Recycling Program

Parade, an underwear company with its own sustainable practices, recently partnered with Terracycle to create a national recycling program for (clean) underwear. Bras and other intimates are not accepted, but panties of any brand can be shipped in this box.

Here are two important tips to consider before shipping the box:

• Make sure to fill your box to ensure a lighter carbon footprint. Less shipments also mean less work for you.

• Wash, wash, wash your panties, boxers, briefs, etc. Sending dirty ones… why would you do that?

After ensuring that you have a full, clean box, all that’s left to do is print out the label provided, tape, and finally ship the box through UPS or USPS.

Carter’s Baby & Kid’s Clothing Program

In addition to old undergarments, you can now send in children’s clothing through Terracycle’s partnership with Carter’s. As with the underwear box, make sure you ship your clean items and fill the box to maximum capacity. Any brand of baby/kid’s clothes is acceptable, they don’t need to be from Carter’s.

Here’s a bonus: Carter’s Rewarding Moments members can receive 75 points for each shipment Terracycle receives. More details are available below.

Brand-Specific Recycling Programs

Not every box available on Terracycle has the option of throwing in random brands. A few boxes are only dedicated to recycling their own brand, so it’s important to check which box is most convenient for each household.

One brand-specific program, Lilysilk, allows their customers to ship old items through Terracycle. Their inventory ranges from pillowcases to soft scrunchies, but only a few pieces are available to ship through this recycling box.

Permitted items for this box include:

• Pajama textiles
• Silk textiles
• Cashmere textiles
• Pillowcases
• Eyemasks

Recycling Socks Outside of Terracycle

Underwear, baby clothes, luxury silks… these textiles are all available to recycle through one site. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a (free) box for sending in well-worn socks. They don’t always need to be delegated to cleaning dusty furniture; socks can become new socks as well.

Fortunately, I found a good site –Green Matters– which is focused on topics like sustainability awareness and climate change. The site posted a great list of places that accept old socks through mail-in or drop-off programs. Take a few glances and hopefully find something that works for your household’s needs.

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/recycling-socks

Concluding Note:

Recycling unrecyclables is becoming increasingly available to the public. This change is slow, yet all we need to do to change that is to shift our habits and practices into more sustainable ones. This, above all, starts within the home. Changes in how we dispose of textiles like old socks and underwear are key to establishing a more circular economy. I hope this piece made your fabric and textile recycling efforts a little bit easier to navigate.

Thank You for reading.