The arrival of warmer weather often means sorting through your wardrobe. But sorting through your belongings can also make you realize all the worn-out clothes you own or the old clothes you no longer wear. For those in good condition, second-hand selling apps are no longer an option. So what should you do with your old clothes when they are damaged? If you want to get rid of them, we'll explain where to dispose of worn-out clothes (spoiler: not in the trash) and solutions to keep them for a long time to come.
Disposing of worn-out clothes: responsible solutions
Several solutions for sorting, reusing, and recycling old clothes exist to help you avoid throwing them directly in the trash.
Recycling old clothes
When wondering where to dispose of worn-out clothes, before thinking about the trash, you can turn to collection points.
Attention, people of Marseille! If you want to donate your clothes, the Meanwhile Boutique team has put together a custom article offering all the different collection points scattered throughout the city.
In addition, companies such as Binette, an upcycled fanny pack brand, or Libellule Fabrique, a zero-waste accessories brand, collect your textiles to give them a new life.
If your clothes have holes, are very worn, and cannot be resold, turn to Le Relais collection points.
It is an organization specializing in the collection, sorting, and recycling of old clothes. Once at the sorting center, the clothes and accessories will be either recycled, resold, or donated.
More than 22,000 containers are located all over France: there is surely one near you. To find them, simply go to their interactive map.
Your worn-out clothes, old shoes, belts and small bags cannot be thrown away as they are, like you would with your own trash.
Even your flip-flops can be recycled! A great example is the Nuoceans Birkenstock-style sandal made from recycled flip-flops.
To make sorting and repurposing easier, you must:
- the clothes must be dry and clean
- the shoes must be tied together
- everything must be placed in a closed bag of 30 liters max
- the clothes, shoes, and accessories should be separated (if possible)
-
do not place your bag on the ground and make sure to put it in the container
Recycling socks and knitwear
Yes, there are now collection points for your old socks, whether they are torn, stained, single, or in pairs.
With Les Chaussettes Orphelines, you no longer have to wonder where to dispose of worn-out clothes and old socks.
The company collects socks, beanies, scarves, gloves, tights, and knit sweaters to recycle them and create new clothes.
How? Thanks to numerous collection points across France or by sending them directly by parcel.
Meanwhile Boutique in the 10th arrondissement of Marseille
At Meanwhile Boutique, we firmly believe that every garment deserves a second chance.
That is why, every Tuesday in our Marseille boutique, we organize an open donation collection (collection paused in July-August-September). Instead of throwing away your worn-out or simply discarded clothes, you can drop them off directly with us.
We then take care of sorting them carefully: some will join our solidarity thrift store, others will be redirected to associations such as la Cravate Solidaire and la Maison des Femmes.
Our boutique is located on the first floor of the Aushopping center in Marseille, at 57 boulevard Romain Rolland, in the 10th arrondissement.
And that's not all: Meanwhile Boutique is currently the only committed store of its kind in the 10th arrondissement of Marseille.
So, every Tuesday if you are from Marseille, think of us: your clothes still have a lot to offer.
Associations: a new use for your worn-out clothes
You probably already know them, Emmaüs and the Red Cross also offer collection points to get rid of worn-out clothes.
Emmaüs even has an interactive Emmaüs map to easily locate collection points near you.
In addition to old clothes, we often wonder where to dispose of old suits and ties when we cannot sell them.
To prevent them from staying in closets forever, Cravate Solidaire collects them and then redistributes them to people who cannot afford to buy them.
Students, people reintegrating or in need, your blouses, suits, and ties still have a great life ahead of them!
Recycling centers: drop-off points for your worn-out clothes
Some recycling centers are also voluntary drop-off points and have containers for textiles, shoes, and household linens.
These are large white containers labeled Eco TLC that allow you to dispose of your worn-out clothes.
The drop-off rules are the same as for Le Relais collection points: clothes must be dry and clean, placed in a closed bag, shoes tied together, and, if possible, in a separate bag.
Did you know? Collection points send their contents to clothing recycling organizations that subsequently provide innovative and sustainable projects.
This is the case of FaBrick which designs innovative bricks made from recycled textiles. Created by Clarisse Merlet, a young architect, these solid and insulating bricks become furniture or decorative objects.
With their team, they are working to develop this innovative and fully recycled material for construction.
You can see a preview below:
Resource centers: towards upcycling old clothes and reuse
Finally, to avoid throwing your old clothes in the trash, you can go to a resource center.
What is it? A place dedicated to the reuse of our old objects and textiles.
The principle? You get rid of your old clothes. The resource center that collects them gives them to its reintegration workshop to repurpose them and then resell them.
Discover the different resource centers on the website of the national network of resource centers.
Are you looking for a place where to dispose of worn-out clothes, for recycling, repurposing, or donation? You can also find out via the Re-Fashion interactive map which offers more than 46,000 drop-off points.
Practical when it comes simply to get rid of old clothes as close to home as possible!
What to do instead of throwing away worn-out clothes?
Of course, even before thinking about where to dispose of worn-out clothes, you can turn to alternatives to always wear them. It is the ideal solution to give new life to clothes that no longer fit or repair those that are damaged.
Repair them
Before wondering where to throw away worn clothes, you can also consider having them repaired.
When a piece you particularly love is torn, too small, or damaged, it is often with sadness that you part with it.
Except there are solutions to keep it for a long time:
- Hire a home seamstress
Tilli is an online platform of home seamstresses. It connects you with a professional to alter your worn clothes according to your wishes and needs… In short, everything possible to give that old torn garment you still like (or not) a new lease on life.
- Go to a sewing and upcycling workshop
This is what Textilerie offers: a place to learn to repair your clothes, but also where to get rid of them. An original concept where you can learn, practice sewing or find new upcycled pieces. Textilerie ist based solely in Paris. However, there are surely similar initiatives in other French cities! If so, feel free to let us know in the comments.
- Hire a neighborhood seamstress
Of course, feel free to go see your neighborhood seamstress. As a professional, they will know how to mend your worn clothes in no time.
In addition, this promotes local employment and neighborhood businesses which tend to disappear with the emergence of shopping areas.
- Go to a Repair Café
If you don’t have one in your neighborhood, you can also turn to a Repair Café.
As its name indicates, or not, it is a community-run place where you can have your old objects and clothes repaired. The big plus: the friendly and warm atmosphere of a café among friends.
The goal is to bring together individuals who know their way around in a field to pass on their knowledge and avoid throwing your clothes or objects in the trash. All voluntarily.
If you are interested, there are hundreds all over France, so why not near you?
Give them to designers
On Meanwhile Boutique, many eco-responsible brands practice upcycling, recycling and valorization.
Explore our upcycling collection to discover all the products resulting from this value.
Many are artisans who work by hand and who thrift worn or damaged textiles as material for their creations.
To avoid throwing away your old clothes, why not give them to designers?
By posting an ad on Facebook groups for designers, on LeBonCoin or on the Facebook marketplace, you might find a buyer.
Also, feel free to subscribe to the Meanwhile Boutique newsletter for more good deals in your inbox.
Give them to people around you
Whether to your entourage, by word of mouth it is also possible that your old clothes find a buyer, even if they are worn.
By turning to neighbor exchange and mutual aid networks like Smiile or Proxiigen, you can also swap or give your clothes.
These mutual aid networks between citizens allow to promote the collaborative economy and the exchange between residents of the same neighborhood, the same city.
To use them, you just need to create an account for free and publish your ad.
Easy, right?
Here is a little summary diagram made by The Good Goods to know where and how to repair your clothes:
As you have seen, to avoid throwing your clothes in the trash, there are many things to do. Between the recycling of old clothes, repair, upcycling and donation, your worn clothes can easily get a second life.
If you want a little novelty in your wardrobe or for your home, you can also turn to buying upcycled clothes.
A great opportunity to treat yourself while promoting reuse and resource economy.
Discover our upcycled decor items, accessories and ready-to-wear made by our eco-responsible designers:
