Reducing Clothing Waste

Fast fashion and the constant churn of micro-trends have led to skyrocketing amounts of clothing and textile waste. Every year 80 billion items of clothing are purchased globally; after purchase, the average clothing item is worn only 7 times (Wall Street Journal, “The High Price of Fast Fashion”).

Nearly a third of online orders end up being returned, and these returns are not usually placed back on the shelves – they are often landfilled or exported to other countries, because textiles are very difficult to recycle. First and foremost, we must focus on reducing our consumption of clothing in order to address clothing and textile waste.

The average American bought 68 new items of clothing in 2018.

That is more than one new clothing item purchased every single week for the whole year.

How can we reduce clothing and textile waste?

Host a clothing swap: Invite friends and community members to bring 5 – 10 items that are in good, wearable condition and shop your friends’ closets. Go home with something “new” to you!
- Quick tip: If you are hosting a larger event, sort the clothes by size to make it easier for attendees to find something to take home!
Shop secondhand! Visit your local thrift store to look for clothing items that can be given a new life. There are also online marketplaces dedicated to pre-owned clothing such as Poshmark, ThredUp, Ebay, and local Buy Nothing groups on social media. (Inclusion of a website here is for example purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement.)
Learn to mend! Ripped a hole in your favorite jeans? Pick up a new skill and take up mending – learning how to fix your clothing will ensure it can continue to be used.
- Quick tip: Check out mending classes at a local community college, or take a sewing workshop!
Shop your closet! Do a closet assessment and fall in love with items you might have forgotten you had. See if you can style what you already own in a new way!
Learn about take-back and repair programs! See if stores or brands offer repair or take-back of items; for example, Patagonia offers repairs on their products, and Madewell has started a secondhand marketplace of pre-owned Madewell items. (Inclusion of a brand or product here is for example purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement.)

Are there any California laws about textile recycling?

Senate Bill SB-707, also known as the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, seeks to address textile waste through extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR programs seek to move the burden of handling waste to the manufacturer of the product. The bill creates a stewardship program to reduce the environmental impact of discarded textiles through improved recovery, recycling, and responsible disposal processes. This legislation will contribute to a more sustainable, circular economy for textiles, reducing the amount of textile waste sent to landfills.

This bill requires producers of apparel or textiles to form and join a producer responsibility organization (PRO). The PRO is then required to submit to the State a complete plan for the collection, transportation, repair, sorting, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of apparel and textile articles in the state. Upon approval of a plan, or commencing July 1, 2030, whichever is earlier, the bill would make a producer subject to specified civil penalties, unless the producer is a participant of a PRO and all apparel and textiles are accounted for in the plan.