NYC wants everyone to recycle their old clothes instead of throwing them away

NYC is launching a campaign to recycle clothes in order to reduce waste. In partnership with the NYC Department of Sanitation, the NYC Economic Develop Corporation, as well as several fashion companies, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has started a social media advertising campaign asking New Yorkers to drop off old clothing at one of 1,000 drop-off spots around the 5 boroughs. NYC is known as one of the world’s fashion capitals and because of this, 200 million pounds of clothing is thrown away every year, ending up in landfills to just sit around for another 200 years. 

Another option is to swap, sell or repair old clothes to help reduce waste. The purpose of the campaign is to show there are many options, aside from just throwing away clothes. Zara, H&M and other “fast fashion brands” are supporting the campaign. The EPA estimates that 16 million tons of clothes were thrown away in 2015. 

Source:

Fast Co. 

EPA