How to Recycle Where to Recycle

How to Recycle Clothing & Accessories

So, you’ve cleaned out your closet and ended up with a big bag of clothing (or three) that you don’t like, don’t fit, or simply no longer need. What on earth do you do with it?

The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters responsible for 10% of annual CO2 emissions. Donating or disposing of used clothing properly is an important step toward mitigating its environmental effects.

Here’s a step-by-step checklist for all of your discarded duds.

1. Divide and Conquer

First, sort your stuff into three piles: great condition, good condition, and poor condition. Great-condition clothing looks new, has retained its shape perfectly, and bears no signs of wear and tear. Usable-condition clothing may be a little bit faded or worn but still in wearable condition with no stains or holes. Poor-condition clothing is stained, threadbare, or has holes in it.

2. Clothing Swaps and Consignment Stores

Great-condition clothing and accessories are excellent candidates for clothing swaps or consignment stores. To host a clothing swap, invite a handful of good friends who wear approximately the same size to bring their closet surplus, and choose and exchange clothing.

Alternately, bring your items to a consignment store in your area. They’ll sell them for you and give you a portion of the proceeds.

3. Thrift Stores/Charity Donations

Good-condition clothing can be donated to a thrift store like Value Village, Goodwill, or Salvation Army. There, the clothing is sorted, priced, and placed on the sales floor for secondhand shoppers to find. Oftentimes thrift stores use the proceeds from the sale of these items to support charity initiatives.

4. Clothing Recycling

You really shouldn’t donate your poor-condition clothing to a thrift store — you’ll waste their time when it comes time to sort, and if you’re getting rid of it because of its condition, you can bet no one else will want to wear it, either.

For those stained, torn or otherwise unwearable textiles, clothing recycling is the answer. Find a drop-off spot near you by adding your ZIP Code in our Recycling Locator.

Some companies like Patagonia accept their clothing items back for recycling. Fashion retailers like H&M and American Eagle Outfitters offer in-store clothing recycling bins to collect textiles and accessories made by any brand, so recycling your clothing is now as easy as a trip to the mall. Check out recent Earth911 podcasts about clothing sustainability and recycling for additional information.

With new recycling companies like Supercircle and EVRNU working behind the scenes to facilitate collection and processing, more brands than ever will take their products back for recycling, including:

5. Mail-In Recycling Programs

If you don’t have access to in-store drop-off locations, several companies offer convenient mail-in textile recycling services that accept clothing from any brand:

  • TerraCycle Zero Waste Box – Purchase a prepaid box, fill it with any textile or fabric-based products, and ship it back for recycling. TerraCycle processes textiles into raw materials for insulation, cleaning cloths, and other products. Available in multiple sizes for homes and businesses.
  • Retold Recycling – A mail-in subscription service for recycling unwanted clothes and household textiles. Fill their prepaid bags with up to 5 pounds of clothing, linens, or fabric scraps and drop them in the mail. Items are sorted and sent to thrift stores, upcyclers, or recyclers—nothing goes to landfill. Available as single bags or quarterly/annual subscriptions.
  • Everywhere Apparel – This recycled cotton clothing company offers a textile recycling mailer that accepts clothing from any brand. Items are processed and transformed into new recycled cotton apparel, upholstery filling, or insulation. They’ll issue a $5 credit toward their sustainable clothing line when you send in your textiles.

Find a drop-off location for clothing and accessories near you using the Recycling Locator.

Find Recycling Guides for Other Materials

Frequent Clothing & Accessory Questions

How can I find a consignment store?

A simple internet search will likely turn up dozens of local stores in your city or town. (An added benefit of using a consignment store is that your dollars stay local.)

What happens to clothing when it’s recycled?

Textile recyclers sort clothing just like you did, into clothing worth wearing and clothing suitable for recycling. Textiles are sorted by color and material type and shredded to become fiberfill or stuffing. Some textiles are cut down and sold as rags, and still others are baled up and sold by weight.

What do I do with old eyewear?

There are some programs that take eyewear. The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation collects used eyewear at LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and Target Optical stores. Donated glasses are forwarded to Lions Club International recycling centers, where they’re sorted, cleaned, and redistributed to people in need through global vision care programs. The foundation has helped provide sustainable vision care access to nearly 1 billion people since 2013.

What can I do with old footwear?

You can follow the same rules as you did for clothing. Great-condition shoes and boots can be swapped or sold, good-condition footwear can be donated, and shoes in poor condition can be dropped off for recycling at a clothing recycling collection bin.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated in January 2026.

Additional Reading

 


Editor’s Note: This article was most recently updated in january 2026.

Additional Reading

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