5 things to know before you donate clothes in Singapore

What do you do with clothes that you’ve grown tired of or are damaged?

Before you donate or recycle them, here’s what you should remember.

DON'T PUT YOUR USED CLOTHING INTO RECYCLING BINS

Recycling bins need to be reserved for recyclable materials in their simplest forms – namely plastic, metal and paper.

To recycle textile, drop off your clothes at any H&M store. Find out more about its Garment Collection Program here.

Or use a service like Greensquare. You can find out more information on what types of clothes they accept, learn more about their work and even schedule a pick-up.

REMEMBER TO ASSESS YOUR CLOTHING

Some older items may not necessarily be beyond salvaging. In fact, before you decide that it should be tossed, look online for simple DIY ideas.

This is especially helpful when you have clothing that cannot be recycled.

DONATE YOUR CLOTHES

Donating your once-loved clothes to social enterprise thrift shops such as Minds shop, Metta Welfare Association and The Salvation Army?

Always check if these are pieces that are still wearable. This means checking for any holes, tears, major defects or stains. Ask yourself if you’re discarding of this piece of clothing because you’ve grown tired of it or if it’s actually damaged.

If it’s the latter, there’s a high chance that even when donated, most thrift shops would remove it from their racks because they wouldn’t be able to sell it.

DIY SOMETHING OUT OF IT

Thanks to the many DIY tutorials out there, you can easily find a new way to breathe new life into your old clothes.

Make bathmats out of old T-shirts, turn jeans into cool stationary cases for your kids and create cool artwork out of old fabric scraps. All it takes is a little imagination!

HOST A CLOTHING SWAP

Clothing swaps are sweeping across the world, and it’s also gaining steam in Singapore.

If you can’t find a clothing swap to go to, host your own. All you need is a room, a couple of clothing racks or cardboard boxes, and a bunch of friends who have clothes to swap with.

The idea is that people can come to your swap, bringing with them their own clothes, and they can barter to trade their clothing and accessories with you.

You’re free to set your own rules – these can range from the minimum condition of the swap items to the types of swappable items – but essentially it’s a great way to gather up your friends, make new connections and do all that while saving your clothes from being tossed.

This article was first published in The Singapore Women's Weekly.