How to Give Away Old Clothes to Veterans Charities
It may not come as a surprise to hear that the textiles industry is one of the biggest in the entire world. After all, everyone needs clothes to wear, may it be for everyday life, work or military uniforms, formal wear, or anything else. The United States in particular stands one of the largest consumers and producers alike for textiles, and this creates a massive industry in that nation. It should also be noted, however, that the textiles industry has one of the lowest recycle and reclamation rates of any industry today, and American citizens are encouraged to help reverse this trend. A lot of old clothes are thrown in the trash instead of sent to veterans clothing donations or other military donations. Helping families in need is a fine way to contribute to charity, and veterans donations are always welcome. To donate clothing, such as veterans donations, is to help reverse the trend of waste and provide for those who need it. How can this be done?
Current Rates of Donations And Waste
Recent statistics show that a lot of clothing is simply thrown away and sent to landfills, where it won’t do anyone any good. Nearly 85% of all clothing purchases in the United States is thrown away like this at some point, and with Americans buying more clothes than ever, that adds up fast. Today’s American consumers are buying twice as many clothes as they did just 20 years ago, and today’s American woman has an outfit for every day of the month (compared to just line in 1930). It has been calculated that the average American is throwing away nearly 82 pounds of textile waste each year, including clothes, linens for beds and tables, and so on. This adds up to millions of tons of wasted textiles. Some old clothes are recycled to make furniture stuffing or industrial rags, but some would argue that donations are a better way to use those old clothes.
The good news is that many Americans have a strongly charitable spirit, and veterans donations and charity for families in need are common. Veterans donations centers and other charity sites can be found across the United States, and many millions of old, unwanted garments are donated every day of the year. Such charity drives tend to be open every day of the year, and they may see the most activity around Thanksgiving or the winter holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah, which are traditionally charitable times of the year. Anyone can help contribute veterans donations of clothes if they so choose, and driving up overall charity rates may be a matter of further stoking the existing charitable spirit in the United States. This can be easily done, and for big results if enough people contribute old clothes for veterans donations.
Making the Donation
How can a typical American household give away their old clothes to charities? This can be done with a fairly simple process, and there are some extra bonuses to doing this, such as clearing up much-needed room in one’s wardrobe. To begin, everyone in a household can gather up all of their clothing and assemble all of it into a single pile on the floor. This includes clothes of all types from across the entire house or apartment, such as shirts and pants, dresses and skirts, coats, gloves, shoes, and even scarves. This creates a comprehensive inventory to make it clear how much clothing is really owned.
Now, everyone involved may sort through this large inventory and choose what they really want to keep, versus what they are comfortable giving to charity causes nearby. Clothes to be donated, for example, may be out of fashion, the wrong size, redundant, or simply worn out. These old clothes can be set aside and sealed in boxes or bags, and once all of this is done, leftover clothes are put back. The clothes to be donated can be taken to a local charity site, and the donor hands them over to the volunteers there (they can look up addresses for these sites if need be). The donor may even be eligible for a tax rebate form based on the value of everything that they donated.