Go Green With Old Clothes by Art Gib
With everyone becoming environmentally conscious these days, wearing green clothing in Canada, the U.S., Europe, and many other parts of the world has become a trend. However, it takes energy and resources to design and make any kind of clothing–green or otherwise–so might I suggest that the best way to make your clothing eco-friendly is to use it up and wear it out. When clothing gets too old to wear, recycle it yourself by using it as something else.
For example, make a patchwork shirt, skirt, or quilt out of clothes that have holes in them or have lost their shape. Or just take parts of the article of clothing to make a patch on something else like jeans (you can also transfer pockets from old jeans to replace ripped pockets on new jeans). Even easier, make your own accessories. Headbands, necklaces, hair ties, belts, and necklaces can all be made from old clothes by braiding the strips of fabric. From an old sweater, you can make winter necessities like mittens, hats, or scarves. Any of these options not only allows you to reuse your old shirt, pants, or sweaters, it also helps you save the money you would have spent to buy a new belt, etc. Now that’s going green.
Of course, your old clothes aren’t limited to becoming clothes again. They can be reincarnated as toys, bean bags, book covers, lamp shades, pillows, curtains, wrapping paper (silk shirts are great for dressing up gifts), and picture frames. The sky’s the limit. Chances are, when you do something crafty with your old clothes, no one will be able to guess what they were before. Instead, you’ll be complimented on your unique couch cushion and asked where you found your retro jewelry box.
Let’s not forget the ultimate use for old clothes: cleaning rags. If you need a duster for the furniture or something to wipe off the dipstick in your engine, don’t spend a cent on rags at the store. You’ve got your own in the closet! Keep a bag of torn up shirts in the garage to clean up oil spills or wipe off grease.
Your clothing recycling isn’t limited to what I’ve suggested here. You can find plenty of ideas for old clothes online, such as making hacky sacks out of old socks, a rice bag warmer from a flannel shirt, or a purse from used jeans. Of course, you can always donate your gently used clothes to Goodwill or another non-profit organization so that someone else can use them.
Next time you go to throw something away, think twice about where it could be put to use and make your clothing truly green.
About the Author
Earth Fashions are dedicated to bringing our customers quality green clothing in Canada at prices to suit everyone’s budget and lifestyles. For more info please visit at http://www.earthfashions.biz. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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Rag Quilt Project | Beverly’s How-To
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