What can you do with old clothes besides donate or make into rags? Every year I have my annual Baked Potato-Battered Women-Clothing Exchange Fest! But it is only once a year- So what can you do?
I just Gotta Tell Ya
- Cheap, throwaway fashion accounts for up to 30% of the waste at some landfill sites
- 1.5 million tonnes of unwanted clothing ultimately ends up in landfill in the UK
- Remnant fabrics and used clothing in Los Angeles account for up to 10 percent of trash clogging up landfills,
- Putting a pair of old jeans back into use rather than in the dump can save valuable resources. One company estimated that it takes as much as 8,000 liters of water to grow the cotton used for just one pair of jeans.
What You can Do
- Buy better clothing and make it last
- Buy Less Clothing
- Buy Clothing made of Sustainable, and Organic Materials, Secondhand clothes or clothes made with recycled materials.
- Stop washing Clothing in Hot Water- and Hang Dry- clothing will last longer
- Repurpose old clothing with new looks by adding appliques, belts and jewelry
- Reuse- Recycle- Repurpose- Rethink all textiles and fabrics into other things
- Donate and give away
Handmade, Organic, FairTrade Clothing Directories and Stores
- Handmade Clothing– which has a directory of handmade clothes business.
- Etsy offers many shops that repurpose old clothing.
- Happy Hippie-
Some Great Handmade Clothing Stores
These are not all the stores- for more visit the directories listed above!
- Green Cocoon – Beautiful hemp & cotton clothing for the whole family. Sweat shop free tie dyes and high quality fiber arts. Handmade in Canada.
- Autumn Dog Designs
- Autumn Rose Design-
- Heidi and Seek- clothing upcycled!
- Hippie Clothes – Handmade dresses, spinny skirts, patchwork pants and shorts, apron tops, shirts, knitted ski hats, crocheted tams, purses, backpacks, coming soon,crocheted sweaters, hemp/yarn purses
- Hip Threads- Handmade hippie Clothing
- Lily’s Patchwork- Available on Etsy as well
- Mystic Dream Creations*~ Beautiful handmade hippie style clothing made especially for you. Everything from simple panel designs to intricate patchwork and detailed appliques
- Lucid Creations ~ Hippie Tams (hats) & Patchwork Bags. Handcrafted with lots of love. Recycled cotton yarns.
- Mama’s Cheesies – Our unique name matches our unique collection of hippie goods! We specialize in beautiful handcrafted clothing and accessories, including original patchworks, recycled items, and crocheted goods.
- Mammas Loving Hands- Handmade Clothes
- Namaste Creations – One of a kind, wearable patchwork art clothing. Sold online
- Plain Jane Patchwork – Everything on my site was hand made by me. Here you will find patchwork clothing, stained glass, pottery, knit goods, and jewlrey. Custom orders welcomed!
- Printing in Eco-Friendly Colours On Silk – Block Printing on Natural Silk Fabrics in vegetables Colours.
- Recycled by Hyena– Clothing and Accessories made from recycled materials
- Soulflower: Hemp Clothing, shoes, accessories, Sold online
- SunBurstTieDye – Custom hand-dyed Tie Dyed Products, hand-woven hemp jewelry and pet supplies, Dye kits, Work-wear, Merry Hempsters’ Bath and Body, Linens, Baby Supplies, t-shirts, skivvies, etc. for the modern hippie.
- Tye Dyes – Tye Dye fashions/custom tie dyeing on hemp -organic cotton or any cotton materials wholesale inquires welcome.
- Wildflower Tie Dye – One of a kind tie dyed clothing for the whole family! Specializing in woman’s yoga wear and kids clothes. Check out our unique designs with online ordering. Worldwide shipping available.
What’s Being Done
- Taking Textiles out of Landfills
- Primark Effect Article from the UK
- Plastic Bags on our Back-
Great article!
I’d love to add my clothing line, Heidi & Seek, to the list – I make quirky reconstructed and upcycled pieces.
http://heidiandseek.etsy.com
I sedond Hayley, great article!
Thank you very much for mentionning my work/
great article and blog! Thanks for showing my work and listing my website!
I like the tie dyed t-shirts. I’ll pick one out for my daughter for Christmas. When removing materials from an old barn we found feedsacks full of old clothing. I washed the clothes that were still intact, cut out the seams, pockets, etc, ironed the pieces and had the Amish make a quilt of the old fabrics. It’s amazing. We could make quilts and have blankets for all the homeless with the amount of clothing people throw away everyday. I even thought of making a quilt using white socks with holes in the toes or heals. The rest of the sock is in great shape and thick, and probably warm when combined with the other quilt layers. Just an idea. I hope I get to make one someday. monica
i liked the Green Cocoon Handmade Clothing.. i always love to wear handmade clothes..
Agreed. I am hoping that we are changing direction and people are becoming more aware of their actions. It is all about making those slight changes in a wasteful routine that we have all been around.
Great list of stores! I especially like SoulFlower, as I’m an old hippie at heart, and have purchased from them. They have some really fun and funky retro clothes and accesories, and they’re green to boot!
We could make quilts and have blankets for all the homeless with the amount of clothing people throw away everyday.