
If you were to go into a clothing factory and have a look around, youd see the huge amount of wastage that occurs during the manufacture of clothing. There is quite literally tons of it which usually just gets binned then ends up at landfill sites.
However now companies have been set up to redevelop and recycle old clothes and waste. One particular company works with the cotton waste and the scraps are mulched into something like cotton wool, ready for re-spinning into a new cotton yarn, which can then be used to make a new garmet.http://www.howies.co.uk/mens/features/mens-recycled-cotton-clothing.html
You can also earn some money from your old clothes and not by selling them on ebay but to companies set up for this reason. Return to Earn is just one of those – http://www.returntoearn.co.uk/?gclid=CITn7LvVj68CFc0htAodRRtsyA – all you do is request a bag from them, fill it with your old clothes then they will send you a cheque for him.
Failing that you can recyle your own clothes into different outfits, for instance, you could transform a man’s shirt into a dress. Just go here for ideas http://recycledcrafts.craftgossip.com/transform-a-mens-shirt-into-a-dress/2009/04/30/
There are lots of ideas from websites with some of my favourites below –
http://hideyourarms.com/2009/09/29/how-to-customize-recycle-t-shirts/
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Whole-New-Wardrobe-by-Recycling-Your-Clothes
http://www.retrosewing.net/design-your-own-clothes.html
http://www.vintagedubonton.com/pages/about-us-contact
http://www.thriftyprincessstudio.com/
If you do have a go at recyling your own designs do let me have some photos to put on this blog.

I see Marks and Sparks have now started recycling clothes.
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Yes, they give them to Oxfam and you get £5 voucher 🙂
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It takes a long time but we seem to be getting better at re-using things again.
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I am ‘determined’ to handmake a lot of my Christmas presents this year by recycling things (watch this space) 🙂
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Thumbs up with this!
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Thanks hutt 🙂
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I can remember the after war years…I never had new clothes, always mum and grans ‘cut me downs’
I make bags out of jeans and old coats, skirts from jeans and trousers. I have made curtains out of old sheets and still keep scraps for patchwork.
P xx
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How clever you are p, I am determined this Christmas to try and make a few of my own presents, hopefully recycling things. I know who to ask if I get my knickers in a twist :))
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I am not clever, just used to have to recycle things…before recycle came into fashion. I am goinf to start posting on the craft blog…and try and keep up with the freebies as they make good pressies even if only for Xmas cracker infills.
P xx
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