Zero waste tips & tricks

So here’s the deal: the real answer on how to recycle clothes is to not do it at all.

Yes, I said it.

As many green, “eco”-branded websites tell you that recycling clothes through them is totally sustainable, the fact is it takes a ton of resources to recycle clothing – often putting a strain on countries outside of the global West for our convenience.

Just like recycling everything else, the true answer is clear: we’re consuming way too many items of clothing and the demand for recycled textiles simply doesn’t meet the supply.

That being said, once you get a handle on your consumption, there are great ways to give clothes you don’t want a new life.

Or, alternatively, the title I wanted to use that was too long: 16 resources to be a better climate activist that aren’t mindlessly scrolling social media, liking and reposting as if it’s actual action.

I left Instagram, the spot that not only ate up a ridiculous amount of my time and mental energy, and also made me feel like I was doing something but… reposting a Canva graphic isn’t climate activism. “Awareness” is a bar we long overcame and isn’t enough anymore.

But as much as Instagram and the empty activism frustrated me, it was the online spot where I got frequent hot-takes about the state of the world.

When I left, I didn’t know how I’d be a good climate activist and stay up-to-date on all the climate and social justice issues. So I started digging.