We Recycle Textiles
Flat Can Recycling now accepts clothing and textiles for recycling!
Do you have bags of clothes that are too worn out for donating to Goodwill or Savers, spools of fabric lying around that you know you’re never going to use, or towels full of holes that you’ve just replaced with fluffy new ones?
Flat Can Recycling is proud to announce that in collaboration with eWorks (who has partnered with ReWearable), we’re now accepting clothing, shoes, accessories, bedding, towels, toys, purses, and rags (in any condition) for recycling at our Flat Can Recycling HQ drop site!
Why recycle your used, old, or unwanted clothing and textiles?
As “fast fashion” has become the norm over the past few decades, the clothing and textile industry has become the third largest polluter on the planet. The US alone produces over 17 million tons of textile waste every year, and 1 in 2 people throw their unwanted clothes in the trash. All textiles emit greenhouse gasses as they decompose in landfills, which takes decades.
What happens to recycled clothing and textiles?
Thankfully, there’s a way to divert clothing and other textiles from landfills, and responsibly recycle them. When you drop off these items, we’ll bring them to our recycling partner, eWorks, where they’ll be sorted and processed in the following manner:
- Top picks are designer clothes in good, new or near new condition, which are laundered and sold within the US, with the proceeds covering the cost of collection and transport and supporting RewearAble’s non-profit mission.
- Non-designer clothes in good repair, which makes up the largest proportion of items, are sold in bulk to wholesalers who distribute them to non-profit groups supplying clothes to the needy or sell them to brokers who ship to areas of need in developing countries for use.
- Textiles in poor repair are routed for industrial use, either as cleaning/painting rags or shredded to make insulation or upholstery stuffing.
What textiles we accept
We accept: Clean clothing, shoes, apparel accessories (belts, hats, scarves, purses), bedding, towels, and other household textiles. Items can be in any condition as long as they’re clean and not wet or moldy. Rips, tears, stains that won’t wash out, missing buttons, zippers, etc. are all fine!
Where to recycle your textiles
You can recycle your textiles at our 732 Hicks Drive drop site in Elburn, IL between 7 AM and 4 PM, Monday – Friday.
Recycling textiles with us is free.
