As the weather changes, many of us will be packing our winter coats away and bringing out our cool and fashionable summer outfits. This leaves us in a dilemma: what should we do with our winter clothes? Here are some sustainable tips to consider:
Store and reuse
Instead of tossing out your favorite sweaters and jeans, save them in a box or cotton storage bag. By doing so, you will not only save time and money when winter comes around again, but you will also be preventing more landfills from filling up.
Tips: To save space, you can vacuum seal your bags. Just remember to put a few humidity packs in between or around the stored bags to prevent the humidity from damaging your delicates. Try to reuse a cardboard box or wine crate; not only is this more environmentally friendly than a plastic bin, but it is easy to label what’s inside with a marker.
Donate
Donating your gently used items is always a superb way to clear out your clothing stash and give back to your community simultaneously. In fact, the University’s annual Move Out Clean Out collects clothing and shoes for Planet Aid.
The Greene Center’s Career Clothing Closet welcomes donations of new or gently-used professional apparel and accessories. The Clothing Closet provides students with access to professional dress for upcoming interviews, summer internships, the first days in a new job, conferences, etc. For more information, read our past Go Green article.
Written by Emily Su
Photo credit: Pixabay