Where to Bring Unwanted Clothes?

Many of us have had a room or a wardrobe that we have cluttered with pesky items of clothes.

It at times becomes a moral decision for you on what to do with these items. Us here at Kollect want to give you all the facts and hope that we can help you make the correct decision when it comes to both the environment and the people your choices could affect.

A recent study by Oxfam showed that over 225,000 tonnes of clothing go to Irish landfills every year. This must change!

We have seen many people push for the world to become a more clean and green place, this does not mean that we as a population should “Like & Share” Facebook, Instagram or Twitter posts.

We must begin to show that we are genuinely behind changing the behaviour of people. That is why Kollect is going to provide a definitive guide on how to get rid of your unwanted clothes, so they avoid landfill.

Repurposing Unwanted Clothes

Upcycling is a cornerstone of Kollect; we have partnered together with many upcyclers like The Revamp Tramp and Vintage Irish Kat. We even ran a Facebook competition during COVID-19 lockdown, challenging our followers to complete upcycling projects.

Upcycling is a hugely growing movement. There is a fantastic opportunity to expand this movement from just recyclable items such as wardrobes or pallets to repurposing old clothing and textiles.

For example, consider splitting the article into separates, shortening it, or adding or removing sleeves, which can make it more versatile and more comfortable to wear.

Many alterations services such as The Zip Yard, which has locations around the country, specialise in these 'restyles'. With rates usually less than €45 per project, it's likely to be a lot cheaper than buying a whole new piece. 

Donating Unwanted Clothes

Clothing is an item that has the reusability factor that allows people who have unwanted items to pass these items along in many different ways to many other people.

Donating clothing can have a massive impact on the environment, which can only be a good thing.

The last thing we as people want to see is unwanted clothing headed to landfills. You can donate clothing to many charitable organisations that would be extremely grateful for your donation.

Some organisations accepting clothing donations are Enable Ireland, Oxfam, NCBI, Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) and Liberty Recycling.

Using these organisations will be one of the most beneficial ways to dispose of your unwanted clothes as underprivileged people can benefit from the donations. 

Swapping Unwanted Clothes

Swapping your clothes can be a fun way of getting rid of your unwanted clothing, you can set up fun nights with your friends, and each person could bring ten items each. You could all go through and find things that you feel you could get some use out of. This is a unique way of getting together and helping the environment with your friends or family.

Another way to swap unwanted items is with vintage stores or thrift shops. These stores can provide you with a swap service where you can bring in your unwanted items and trade them for a cool new piece of clothing you might find in store.

There are many of these stores around Ireland such as Sustainable Fashion Dublin and Swap Shop Sundays. They organise events in the capital throughout the year, while in Limerick, Swap It Shop It hosts monthly swap shops at the Commercial in the city centre. Hazel O'Malley of Hazel's Nuts About Vintage runs swaps in Killarney.

There's also TheNuwardrobe.com, an online swap shop where you can borrow and lend as many pieces as you like, for a €6 monthly fee. On the high street, Marks and Spencer partners with Oxfam for its "shwopping" scheme, where customers can receive a €7 discount voucher by donating unwanted M&S-branded clothes to an Oxfam shop. 

At Kollect, we do things differently. We connect you to the most comprehensive network of vetted waste removal companies in Ireland, so you can get your waste collected—whenever, wherever and whatever.

It doesn't matter if it's commercial or domestic bin collection, skip hire, skip bag collection or junk removal, we've got you covered in just a few clicks.

Click the button below to get your FREE quote, or give us a call on (01) 685 9092.

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