Inquiries

Resources

Ever wonder what happens to the clothing you discard?

In the United States alone, 12.4 million tons of used but usable clothing goes to the landfill each year. Most of this waste is avoidable, with a bit of awareness and effort. Learn how to help the planet without hurting your fashion sense—being an informed consumer is your best way to help the planet.

The information below will help you get started:

Associations

SMART: Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles
NART: National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops
TRAID: Textiles Recycling for Aid and Development

Videos

The Story of Stuff Movie (2009) by Annie Leonard
A 20-minute animation of the consumerist society, narrated by Anne Leonard, to view online or download. Includes footnoted script, credits, blog, and resources.

Secondhand (Pepe) (2007) by Shell and Bertozzi
A 24 minute film that contrasts the origins of the US ‘rag’ market in the early 1900s with the impacts of the market on Haitian culture today that gives a good introduction to the world of recycled textiles.

Articles

For Many, Thrift Shops are a Wardrobe Essential (Apr 26, 2008), Caitlin Kelly. The New York Times. A review of the positive aspects of thrift-store shopping.

Transforming the Textile Industry (May/June2002), William McDonough & Michael Braungart. green@work magazine. A look into what it takes to move the textile industry forward into sustainability.

The Lifecycle of a T-Shirt (March 2010), Britt Hartney, blog at HelloGreenTomorrow.com. A brief but powerful description of the global impact of a single shirt.

Other

Environmental Initiatives (2010), Patagonia Inc. Patagonia has a strong commitment to the principles of Corporate Responsibility (CR) and minimizing footprint.

Sustainable Apparel: Integrating Global Commerce and Increasing Consumer Awareness (2011), Zack Treanor, MBA, Industry Paper, California State University, Chico.

Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (2008, updated February 2010). The United Kingdom Department of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA-UK). The UK has made great progress in moving towards sustainability, you can read their plan here.

Well Dressed? (2006), University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing. The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom.


© 2013 DBS Thrift Connection

Email | Privacy | Terms

DBS Thrift Connection is a second-generation family-owned business connecting Thrift Institutions with rag graders and recyclers in the used goods industry. We offer a unique, full-service approach to the used goods industry. Whether you represent a Thrift Institution or a Buyer of excess donations, DBS can help you to work more effectively. Because we neither collect donated items nor process them into salable product, we can remain an unbiased third party, working for the best interests of all. We represent large pools of both buyers and sellers of excess donated items, and we are constantly recruiting new partners, so we can efficiently match buyers to inventory.