It’s no secret that some people have more than others. Some have more money and, as a result, have more disposable income than others do. There’s nothing right or wrong in this. It just is what it is. Many people who have more clothing than they need might find that some day they might wish to get rid of some of the lightly used items that they no longer use. If that thought comes to your mind, think about donating clothing to charity.
Clothing is more accessible and affordable than it ever has been, and in the United States, people buy twice as many pieces of clothing as they did 20 years ago. Recycled clothing is very often worn as second-hand clothing. In fact, 45% of recycled clothing has a new life as a second-hand outfit.
Americans send 10.5 million pounds of clothing to landfills every year and donate 4.7 million pounds yearly. Donating clothing to charity has become much easier to do these days. The IRS has made it beneficial to donate clothing and other used items instead of simply trashing them. There are many different charities that are looking for donations and clothing donations are only a portion of the items they will accept. Almost 100% of household textiles and clothing donations can be recycled. These recycled items can be sold to raise money for non-profit institutions that support veterans, children’s charities, and other worthy causes.
Household donations and clothing donations can be used as tax donations at the end of each year. Depending on what it is you want to donate, the value of those items can be written off as deductions. The value of charitable donations will vary, of course, depending on the items you donate, but donating clothing to charity will help the charity and benefit you as well.
Many people make a regular occasion of donating to their favorite charity. If they find a non-profit charity that does work that they are particularly interested in, they might donate each year at a specific time. Holidays like Christmas or Hanukah are busy times for donating clothing to charity and other items to organizations that will make use of second-hand items.
Recycled and used clothing that is purchased raises money for the charities that sell them. In 2006, used clothing purchases resulted in 2.5 billion pounds of fabric being kept out of landfills around the country. There is something very poetic about keeping clothing alive in ways that give those in need a new hope. Most of us have more clothing and items than we could fully use. If we decided to, it wouldn’t be too difficult to pick out some unwanted items to give away. When we think about it, it’s not hard to see how our unwanted items can make someone else’s life better. There’s no need to fill up our landfills. There’s plenty in there as it is.