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Here are some ways to curb clothing waste

What's happening Around Town
Clothing
Curbing clothing waste is one small way you can help the planet.

Metro Vancouver has launched a new waste-reduction campaign aimed at reducing the amount of clothing being thrown out.

Think Thrice About Your Clothes is a new campaign that promotes options for reducing, repairing and reusing clothing, as well on tips on making smart choices when buying new clothes. Metro Vancouver reports that textile waste is one of the fastest growing categories of waste and currently accounts for five per cent of the total garbage produced in the region each year.
“We buy an astonishing three times as much clothing as we did back in the 1980s,” said Jack Froese, chair of Metro Vancouver’s waste committee, in a press release. “Much of this ‘fast fashion’ is relatively cheap to buy and ends up in the trash, when it could otherwise have been repaired or recycled.”

Some greener clothing tips from Metro Vancouver include: choosing quality clothes that are made to last; buy second-hand or rent clothing; donate unwanted items to second-hand clothing retailers and non-profit organizations (it doesn’t have to be in pristine condition, it just has to be clean).

“If second-hand retailers can’t use an item, they will pack it up and ship it to markets that can use them,” said Metro Vancouver chair Sav Dhaliwal. “With help from our residents, we can keep textiles out of the garbage and help our region divert more waste out of our landfills.”

More information about the Think Thrice about Your Clothes campaign can be found at www.clothesarentgarbage.ca, where you’ll find information such as making alterations or removing stains from existing wardrobe items and accessing clothing rental services.