Where the heck do our clothes go once we’re done with them?

The holidays are around the corner and this is the time where families are gearing up for the big Christmas spend. A large part of our budget will go towards buying new on-trend clothes for our loved ones.

Before rushing off to the mall to do that there are a few things to consider for the eco-conscious consumer.

• 85 per cent of our apparel ends up in landfill
• In one single year, Canada produces enough textile waste – clothing and upholstery to create a mountain three times the size of Rogers Stadium
• consumers are buying five times as much clothing as they did 25 years ago and keeping them half as long.

So what happens to clothing once we’re done with it?

Most of it ends up in landfill where it is the second largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions right behind oil and gas industry emissions.

Increasingly people are donating their used clothing to charity which helps fund important community and social development work.

But be careful where you send your donations. Many clothing boxes found in front of stores support for-profit enterprises which sells and sends its clothing overseas which often impacts local retailers and producers.

The easiest solution… wear your old clothes proudly, donate to charity, and if your clothes are just to darn old to upcycle there are numerous organizations who are now creating new fabrics from old materials and are willing to take  your well worn clothing.