Why Should We Reuse Old Clothes? Is Donating or Recycling Better?

Reusing old clothes is one of the simplest ways to reduce waste, extend product lifecycles, and limit the fashion industry’s impact on the environment. However, not every item should be donated or recycled. Depending on the condition of the clothes, you can choose to continue using them, give them to others, donate to charity, recycle, or store them for future use.

Why Are Old Clothes Becoming an Environmental Issue?

The fashion industry is currently one of the second largest polluting industries in the world, following only the oil industry. Every year, the world produces over 100 billion garments, but 92 million tons of them end up in landfills. The growth of fast fashion, the habit of buying much but wearing little, and the increasingly short lifespan of clothing are the three main causes of the ongoing textile waste crisis.

What Is Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion is a business model that continuously releases new collections at low prices and high speeds, encouraging consumers to buy more and change clothes more frequently. While the fashion industry previously had only two main seasons per year, fast fashion brands now launch 52 collections annually, equivalent to one new collection every week.

The low prices of fast fashion do not reflect the actual costs but are subsidized by poor labor conditions, low-durability materials, and environmental costs that are not included in the selling price.

How Does a T-shirt Impact the Environment?

The lifecycle of a cotton T-shirt leaves a much larger environmental footprint than consumers typically imagine.

In total, a typical cotton T-shirt generates about 2.1 kg of CO2 throughout its entire lifecycle, equivalent to driving a car for 8 km. Multiplied by the billions of shirts produced each year, the cumulative impact is enormous.

What Happens to Clothes After They Are Discarded?

The journey of a garment after leaving the wardrobe rarely ends in an environmentally friendly way as many people expect.

• Landfills — the destination for 85% of discarded clothing” Most clothes are thrown into regular trash bins and end up in landfills. Synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon can take 200–500 years to decompose, while the decomposition process generates methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than CO2 in the short term.
• Incineration — a quick solution but causes air pollution: Some waste treatment plants and major fashion brands burn unsold inventory to avoid price dumping and protect brand image. Burning synthetic fabrics releases toxic chemicals into the air, including dioxins and furans, harming human health and the environment.
• Exporting to developing countries — shifting the problem elsewhere: Old clothes from developed countries are often collected and exported to Africa and Asia. Ghana receives about 15 million pieces of secondhand clothing every week, of which 40% cannot be reused and go directly into landfills or local coastlines. This model does not solve the problem but merely moves waste from one place to another.
• Recycling — great potential but still limited: Only 1% of clothing is recycled into new fibers due to current technological limitations, especially with blended fabrics. The rest is recycled into lower-grade materials like industrial rags or insulation, a form of downcycling that does not address the root of the problem.

What Are the Benefits of Reusing Old Clothes?

Reusing old clothes is a simple action that creates a real environmental and economic impact. Every garment used for an additional 9 months beyond its average lifespan can reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints associated with new production by 20–30%.

Reducing Waste Discharged into the Environment

Every year, Vietnam generates approximately 200,000 tons of textile waste, most of which ends up in landfills or is incinerated. Reusing clothes directly reduces this waste by extending the lifespan of each product before it becomes trash.

A shirt worn 30 times instead of 10 means replacing three new shirts, equivalent to reducing two-thirds of the potential waste from that product group. When reuse becomes a habit for many, the cumulative impact on urban waste management systems is significant.

Saving Production Resources

Producing new clothing consumes a massive amount of resources at every stage.

Every time a garment is reused instead of buying new, consumers indirectly save all the resources mentioned above without needing to significantly change their lifestyle.

Reducing Carbon Emissions

The fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, more than the aviation and shipping industries combined. Reusing clothes directly impacts this figure in several ways.

Extending a garment’s lifespan by 9 months reduces its carbon footprint by 20–30%. Buying secondhand instead of new reduces carbon emissions by 82% compared to equivalent new production. Repairing instead of replacing saves the entire volume of emissions from manufacturing a replacement product.

In summary, if everyone in developed countries simply increased the average lifespan of their clothes from 2 years to 3 years, the global fashion industry’s carbon emissions could drop by about 10%.

Cost Savings for Individuals and Families

The economic benefits of reusing clothes are often underestimated because they accumulate gradually over time rather than appearing as a single, obvious saving.

For families with young children, reusing kids’ clothes has a particularly significant saving impact because children outgrow clothes quickly and rarely have the chance to wear them enough times before they no longer fit.

Contributing to Building a Sustainable Lifestyle

Reusing clothes is not just an isolated action but often a gateway to many more positive lifestyle changes. People who start reusing clothes tend to consider their purchases more carefully, prioritizing quality over quantity and extending their sustainable mindset to other areas of consumption.

At the community level, reusing clothes creates sharing networks, exchanges, and informal circular economies with social value that goes beyond direct environmental impact. As more people practice this, demand for the secondhand market increases, creating economic incentives to develop more professional reuse infrastructure.

Old Clothing Donation – A Humanistic and Practical Solution

Donating usable clothing is a way to transfer value from those who no longer need it to those in need, creating a direct social impact while reducing textile waste. The simplest principle: if you would feel comfortable giving it to a relative, it is suitable for donation.

Types of Clothing Suitable for Donation

Types of Clothing That Should Not Be Donated

Donating sub-standard clothing is not only futile but also places an extra burden on receiving organizations that must process unusable items.

How to Prepare Clothing Before Donating

Proper preparation helps receiving organizations save processing time and ensures items reach those in need in the best possible condition.

• Wash and dry completely: This is the most crucial step and cannot be skipped. Even slightly damp clothing will mold during transport and storage, damaging surrounding items. Wash according to label instructions, and air-dry or tumble-dry completely at least 24 hours before packing.
• Sort before packing: Categorizing items helps receiving organizations distribute them faster and more efficiently. The most common sorting methods: by recipient (men, women, children), by garment type (shirts, pants, jackets), and by season (warm vs. thin clothing). Place each group in a separate bag instead of mixing them.
• Pack neatly and securely: Use thick plastic bags or sturdy cardboard boxes to prevent clothing from getting damp or damaged during transport. Do not overstuff, as this causes wrinkles and makes items difficult to remove. Tie bags tightly or tape cardboard boxes shut.
• Label clearly on the outside: Write the contents on the outside of each bag or box, including the type of clothing, sizes if known, and the intended recipient. For example: children’s t-shirts ages 3–5, women’s clothing size S–M, or primary school uniforms. Clear information helps organizations sort and distribute to the right people without wasting time checking each item.

A simple rule for self-checking before donating: if you would feel uncomfortable giving it directly to someone you know, do not donate that item. Quality donations are better than a large quantity of poor-quality items.

What is Clothing Recycling?

Clothing recycling is the process of transforming used fabrics and garments into new materials or products, rather than sending them to landfills or incineration. Unlike direct reuse, recycling alters the form and properties of the original material to create new value.

Textile Fiber Recycling

Textile fiber recycling is the most advanced form of recycling in the garment industry, turning old clothes back into fibers to be woven into new fabric. The process involves sorting fabrics by material, mechanical shredding or chemical dissolution into fibers, and spinning them into yarn for new textile production.

The biggest challenge in fiber recycling is that most modern clothing is made from blended fabrics, making the separation and recycling into high-quality fibers technically difficult and costly.

Recycling into Industrial Rags

This is currently the most common and practical form of recycling because it does not require complex technology and can handle most blended fabrics that fiber recycling cannot.

Old clothes are cut into standard-sized fabric pieces, packaged by weight, and sold to factories, workshops, and industrial cleaning facilities. Rags made from old cotton are preferred over synthetic ones due to their superior absorbency. One kilogram of old fabric recycled into industrial rags has a much lower value than recycled fiber, but in return, it does not require complex material sorting and can process almost any unwearable clothing.

Recycling into New Materials

Old clothes and fabrics can be transformed into various materials entirely different from their original use in construction, industry, and daily life.

Upcycling – Turning Old Items into Higher-Value Products

Upcycling differs from traditional recycling in that the output product has a higher value than the original material, rather than being downgraded. This is the most creative form of recycling and is becoming a major trend in sustainable fashion design.

• Upcycling clothes at home is the simplest approach, including cutting old jeans into shorts, turning old t-shirts into tote bags, or reusing fabric from damaged clothes to patch other garments or sew accessories like small pouches and scarves.
• Commercial upcycling is developing into a distinct segment within the fashion industry. Upcycling brands purchase old clothing, deconstruct them, and recombine them into new products with unique designs. A skirt made from recycled denim or a jacket from old wool fabric can be priced higher than a new product made from raw fabric due to its uniqueness and the story behind the product.

Is Donating or Recycling Better?

There is no absolute answer because the best choice depends on the condition of each item. The general rule: if the clothes are still usable, donate them; if the clothes have degraded, recycle them. Both are better than throwing them into the regular trash.

When to Donate and When to Store?

The decision to donate or store clothes depends on the potential for future reuse and the emotional value of each item. Donate when others need it more than you do, and store when you will need it again or the item has irreplaceable value.

When to Use Mini Storage Instead of Home Storage

Home storage is suitable for items that need frequent access. Mini storage is more appropriate when items need long-term keeping but take up too much living space.

A simple way to decide: if an item has sat in your closet for more than 12 months without being worn and you have no specific reason to keep it, donating is a better choice than storing. If there is a clear reason to keep it but you don’t need frequent access, mini storage helps free up living space without having to give up what is valuable.

MyStorage Supports Clothing Storage & Charity Closets

After sorting your clothes, MyStorage supports both directions of handling: safely storing items you want to keep and accepting donations through the charity closet at the main office. You don’t have to choose one or the other; you can do both in a single visit.

Storing Seasonal Clothing and Personal Items at MyStorage

MyStorage self-storage is suitable for items with functional or emotional value that do not require frequent access, freeing up closet area and living space without giving up what is important.

MyStorage Charity Closet

If during the sorting process you have clothes in good condition that you want to donate, MyStorage provides a charity closet at the main office to receive them.

A complete closet decluttering session can end at MyStorage: bring items you want to keep into storage and leave items you want to give away in the charity closet. Living space is freed up, valuable items are preserved, and good clothes reach those in need.

Every piece of clothing in your closet has a most suitable way to be handled based on its condition and value. Continue wearing it if it’s still usable, donate it if others need it more, store it if there is a clear reason to keep it, and recycle it if there are no other solutions. These four simple steps, when they become a habit, can significantly reduce textile waste without requiring major lifestyle changes.

MyStorage supports both needs in the same location: self-storage helps preserve valuable items you aren’t ready to give up, and the charity closet at 375 Vo Nguyen Giap accepts good clothing to be passed on to those in need. Decluttering your closet is no longer a difficult puzzle when you know exactly where each item is going.

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