37 pounds! This is the average amount of clothing thrown out each year by an individual Toronto household. (Source: Waste Reduction, City of Toronto).
Have you ever been stumped about what to do with those well-loved clothing items that are not really worthy of being donated? You know – the faded, old concert t-shirts that have seen one-too-many weekend work projects, or maybe that beloved sweatshirt with frayed cuffs and holes in the elbows. Or perhaps you have a stockpile of old towels, sheets and rags that are beyond useful but have no idea how to offload them.
Having recently moved house ourselves we can definitely relate! Sometimes you don’t even notice these items until you pack up your house to move. I still can’t believe how much unwearable clothing and worn-out textiles we’ve accumulated over the years. The reason why I’ve been such a “rag pack-rat” is that I could never figure out a responsible way to dispose of these materials. Until now.
We’re really excited to be hosting our first unwanted textile collection event in collaboration with Clotho Inc., a Toronto-based circular textile management company focused on tackling the textile waste crisis.
How do they do it? Clotho Inc. is committed to doing as much as humanly possible to divert the textiles they collect from landfills. They work with target donation partners for the good-condition clothing and linens that they collect, while fabrics that cannot be repurposed or reused in industrial settings or recycled/ upcycled are made into rags or are shredded and used as insulation. These are a few examples of the re-use opportunities for your unwanted textiles. Being innovators and entrepreneurs, Elizabeth Heggie and Helena Skrinjar- Clotho’s founders – are always searching for new opportunities and suggestions to expand on their mission to keep textiles out of landfills.
How can you participate? Join us at Saponetti on May 25 + 26 from 11am-7pm each day and bring your haul of ready-to-part-with textiles – including shoes! – and offload them into the Clotho Inc. collection boxes. Alternatively, you can schedule a pickup with Clotho. Please reach out to them directly at [email protected] or DM them on their Instagram page. Please note that a $10 collection fee applies to all pickups.
Check out their website https://www.useclotho.com and follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/useclotho/