SMART Uses Earth Day to Promote Textile Reuse, Recycling

Although recycling has become a core part of many consumers’ daily routines, the environmental consciousness rarely extends to clothing and textiles. While that means there is a critical gap in minimizing our environmental footprint, it also means there is the possibility of great improvement once textile recycling catches on.
To speed that process along, the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) took advantage of the additional visibility created by Earth Day (celebrated Monday, April 22) by releasing a radio public service announcement (PSA) to spread the word about the importance of finding uses for old textile products – or at a minimum, recycling them.
“Too often, the public doesn’t consider clothing to be “recyclable” as they do plastic, paper, glass, and aluminum cans, says SMART President Lou Buty. “Recent studies by the EPA show the average American consumer throws away 70 pounds of textile products annually, textiles that could otherwise be recycled. SMART encourages consumers to direct their clothing and textiles to re-use and recycling outlets, not into the nation’s landfills and incinerators.”  
According to SMART, 95% of all clothing and household textiles can be recycled or repurposed. The repurposing of textile products includes converting them into wiping cloths or re-manufacturing them into products such as insulation, carpet padding, or soundproofing material.
“Only 5% of all textile materials are ultimately disposed of as trash because they are either wet or are contaminated with oil, paint, or some other hazardous material,” says Buty. “We want the public to know all clothing and household textiles such as tablecloths, sheets, shoes, belts, curtains and stuffed animals can be recycled.  As long as the items are clean, even if they are stained or damaged, there is a recycling use for the material.”
For more information, please visit SMART’s web site.