"On average, each American throws away about 81 pounds of clothing, shoes, and household textiles every year. For a family of four, this adds up to over 320 pounds of textiles tossed or donated each year."
"Goodwill, Salvation Army, and the secondhand chains sell what they can on the resale floor, typically only 10 to 30 percent of the clothing they accept as donations."
"The January 2025 GAO report on textile recovery flagged the offshore-disposal pathway as structurally fragile and quietly subsidized by U.S. consumers who treat donation as absolution."
"Since 1995, clothing prices in the U.S. have dropped by over 30 percent, even as other costs have gone up, mainly due to ultra-fast fashion."
Each American discards about 81 pounds of clothing and textiles yearly, totaling over 320 pounds for a family of four. The EPA reported that U.S. textile generation reached 17 million tons, with a recovery rate of only 14.7%. Most donations are not recycled but sold, with only 10-30% resold. The rest is downcycled or sent to landfills. Export markets for low-grade textiles are under pressure, and clothing prices have dropped over 30% since 1995, contributing to increased waste.
Read at Earth911
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]