What happens to 22,680kg of extra LA wildfire clothing donations?
What's the story
Heaps of donations in clothes, such as T-shirts, socks, jackets, and denim, poured in for the victims of the recent Los Angeles wildfires.
Although donated with noble intentions, donation centers are unable to distribute most of them because they have too much already, or because the items are dirty, damaged, or poorly made.
The Suay Sew Shop in Los Angeles is one such center dealing with a huge pile of surplus clothing donations—22,680kg, to be exact.
Recycling efforts
Suay Sew Shop's initiative amid LA's textile recycling gap
According to the Guardian, the shop is now trying to keep these textiles out of landfills by cleaning, sorting, and upcycling them into wearable fashion.
Lindsay Rose Medoff, co-founder and CEO of Suay Sew Shop, voiced concern over the current systems' inability to handle such large-scale donations.
She said, "To see the overwhelming influx of textiles donations here in Los Angeles in response to the devastating wildfires just shows how the current systems in place have failed us all."
Community support
Suay Sew Shop's 'Suay it Forward' initiative
This problem is especially pressing as Los Angeles currently lacks a permanent textile recycling system.
In light of the crisis, Suay Sew Shop has opened a free store for fire victims, stocked with stylish upcycled clothing.
They have also initiated the "Suay It Forward" campaign, asking people to sponsor bags of clothes for $20. It will then sort and upcycle these sponsored bags.
Since 2017, Suay has diverted over four million pounds of textiles from landfills through their zero-landfill system.
Global concern
The environmental impact of excess textile donations
Jessica Kosak from ASU FIDM emphasized that excess donations frequently find their way to developing countries without adequate waste infrastructure, resulting in pollution as textiles pile up in waterways and beaches.
In 2021 alone, California threw away about 1.2 million tons of textiles.
A new state law now requires brands to establish textile recycling programs by 2028 to combat this problem.
Sustainable solutions
Advocates call for sustainable practices in textile management
Advocates suggest hosting clothing swaps and workshops on garment care to maintain apparel value.
They also recommend selling wearable items on platforms like Depop or eBay and donating proceeds to fire victims instead of contributing more clothes.
Sellers are more likely to clean the item or perform any necessary repairs, increasing the item's chances of being resold and preserving its value if they used peer-to-peer reselling apps.