Donating Clothes to Red Cross
Textiles stands as one of the biggest industries in the world, since everyone needs clothes for everyday wear, formal wear, sleepwear, and uniforms of all kinds. In fact, textiles was one of the major industries of the Industrial Revolution itself, and that momentum has carried over to the present day. However, clothes are not always resourcefully handled; in fact, a lot of used, unwanted clothes end up being thrown away and fill up landfills, and the rates of used clothing donations to causes like Red Cross could potentially be much higher if large swathes of adult Americans chose to donate more vigorously. Clothing donations can easily be given away in any urban or suburban setting, and a clothing donation center may not be far away. Organizations such as Red Cross spearhead the clothing donations effort; a person can donate clothes to Red Cross for a good cause at any time when their wardrobe has excesses of items. To donate clothes to Red Cross is to help strengthen the charity cause for many Americans in need.
Rates of Waste vs Donations
Some clothes end up being donated to charity such as Red Cross, while many tons of textiles instead end up in landfills or being shredded for stuffing for furniture and wall insulation. One can donate clothes to Red Cross to help reduce the ratio of clothes discarded vs those that are properly reused by charity, and recent trends show the need for adjusting this ratio. Often, many millions of pounds of clothes end up thrown away, and sometimes, the clothes are merely used as industrial rags or furniture stuffing. It is believed that only 15% of used clothes will end up worn again, and with Americans buying lots of clothes, that can mean a lot of waste. American consume some 20 billion garments per year, which figures to 68 garments, and seven pairs of shoes for each person, but sometimes, a person does not even want that much.
Fortunately, charity in the United States already has a good start. It is believed that every year, 70% of Americans will give to charity, and around the world, just over 14.3 million tons of donated American clothes go towards families in need. Donated clothes can even be tax deductible, and among high net worth donors, 63% of them say that giving back to the community is their main motivation to donate.
How to Give
To donate clothes to the Red Cross, a person, high income or not, can first take a comprehensive inventory of their clothing, from dresses and skirts to shirts, coats, shoes, and gloves and hats. A person can gather every single garment he or she owns from across the house (or apartment) into one massive pile and start sorting through it all. Important items, and those that make the wearer comfortable and happy, should stay in that person’s wardrobe, while items that are out of season, redundant, worn out, or otherwise unwanted can end up in a “donate” pile, no matter how big or small that pile remains. The kept clothes make for a streamlined and efficient wardrobe for the person, while all the donated clothes can be sealed in bags and taken to Red Cross donation centers. A person can search for “Red Cross clothing pickup near me” to find a local center and its address, and even get driving instructions there. Then, the clothes are simply handed over on site, and the donations process is complete.