SMART Companies Emphasize Textile Recycling

As people clean out their closets, basements, and garages, clothing often piles up for a charitable donation. Dropping off items at the local thrift stores or leaving them on the doorstep for pick-up by a charity organization is as far as most people go with textile recycling. What they don’t realize are the facts about textile recycling:

• Nearly 99% of all textile products can be recycled
• The average consumer throws away 85% of clothing and textiles that can be recycled
• 10 pounds of textile products per person are annually sent to the local landfill
• Charities sell only 20% of donated clothing at storefront locations
• A major revenue source for charities is the sale of unusable products to textile re-purposing companies.

Many municipalities are starting textile recycling programs in addition to traditional paper, plastic, and aluminum recycling programs. Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) is a non-profit organization comprised of used clothing, wiping material, and fiber industry companies. SMART member companies recycle pre- and post-consumer textiles. Some of these textiles continue to be used as clothing, often in developing nations. Unwearable textiles are converted into wiping cloths or are broken down into fibers and are re-manufactured into products such as carpet padding, car insulation, and similar products.

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