Recycling and Upcycling Old clothes.

Part two of the @ecotrain Question of the Week revolves around waste and seeing what creative ways can be found to deal these excesses.

In the western world we create unfathomable amounts of waste in clothing. Cheap clothes at almost disposable prices are par for the course, shipped in from producers in other countries whose workers don't even make a living wage. I once asked at a charity shop what they did with the clothes that were stained or damaged and couldn't be sold on and they said that they are collected by a charity which cleans and fixes them as best they can then sends them to poorer countries to be sold low cost to those in poverty. I wondered if that would be to the same people and countries who make them for a pittance in the first place. I feel rather ashamed of this is the case.

So clothing waste is something I'm very conscious of. When something is to worn, stained or damaged to wear, rather than send it to the charity spots I try to salvage as much as I can of it. Buttons and zippers get removed, stained cotton fabrics become rags and dish cloths and the clean fabric is salvaged for other projects. When a button goes missing on an item still in use, then I can usually find a replacement in my collection.

Denim is particularly good for making new, patchwork fabric up.

I can then use this fabric to make other items, such as bags.

With a little creatively and imagination many things can be incorporated into practical new items. Other than thread, I rarely have to buy in anything new for projects like this if I can make something from what I already have.

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