Upcycled Clothing- Green And Save With Rose’s Rags

I just finished my 26th annual clothing exchange to benefit battered women. For some reason this year, it really struck me about the amount of excess we Americans accumulate over the course of a year. This year was a small group yet I had over 30 extra large Trash bags full of clothing, most like new, some never worn and most of all will never be missed by those who donated. The sad part is that even though those closets were cleaned out, they will be filled up by the same time next year.

I Just Gotta Eco Ya

• Worldwide, the textile  industry uses 1.3 million tons of dye and 7 million tons of chemicals and water plays a big part in infusing the fabric with the dye or chemical and/or rinsing off the excess
• The average American throws away 68 pounds of clothes and textiles every year.
• 1/3 pound= The amount of chemical (pesticides and fertilizers) is used to grow enough cotton for 1 T-shirt.
• 47% of chemicals used to grow cotton are ‘likely, probable or known’ human carcinogens.
• 67 Million Annual bird deathes attributed to pesticides.
• 2.5 Billion pounds of post consumer textile wasted taken from the waste stream every year by the US textile recycling industry.

For those who get bored or grow out of their clothes, they can be donated or up-cycled into a new look. Rose Rags on Etsy, an aspiring up-cycling fashion designer from San Diego, is reusing stuff from her moms and grandmothers closet into fresh new looks.

http://www.waterfootprint.org

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-footprint-calculator/