Why Recycling Our Clothes Won’t Save The World | Leslie Johnston | TEDxINSEAD

It fascinates me whenever I hear about people throwing out t-shirts after a few wears. If they're too worn for outside wear we turn them into night shirts or relax/house shirts since after tons of washes they're wonderfully soft and comfortable. Once they're too thin for that they get added to the rag bin and used until shredded. Now that my mom has discovered how to turn them into t-shirt yarn to crochet with it adds another step on their life cycle.

Great idea! And for those that have an issue with wearing other peoples clothing this story might help change their thinking. Years ago a famous TV anchor (with a six figure income) bragged about buying some of her clothes from a local Goodwill store. She actually wore them with pride. Her story inspired my wife to buy 2nd hand clothing which kept her "in style" and saved us thousands $. Just bring it home and wash it. It'll be fine!

100 years ago, most people only had a few clothes or outfits, so they wore all the clothes in their closet. People tended to buy good quality clothes, because they lasted longer, and they got the wear out of the those clothes. Today, we buy fast fashion items, that only last a few wearing, but most people throw them out after ONE wearing. The quality is so poor, that even recycling companies don't want them.

I am a cheapskate. I buy my clothes at a thriftstore, and wear them until the holes start appearing and then my husband uses them as rags in his garage. Afterwards, we burn them in our stove and it keeps us warm.

recycle clothing might not save the world but certainly is a big step in keeping landfills smaller

"We don't want it to just be less bad. We want it to be more good" yes!!!

I live on a boat so I’ve seriously had to condense down to just the basics.

I buy my clothes at yard sales and thrift stores and give them to a thrift shop when I don't wear them any more. I also use them as rags instead of buying paper towels.

Buy less and less clothes, and get more wear out of the ones we already have. Donating clothes, buying second hand, etc. is like throwing cupfuls of water out of a sinking ship. I'm definitely buying less now, as I haven't bought any clothes this year and I bought just one coat last year. The future looks very depressing.

I buy cheap, but I also use it past it’s expected life; i know how to sew.

I get my clothes second hand. I wear them for years until they fall apart. Then I sleep in the old shirts and the old slacks get cut up. Rags are for cleaning. My towels are 20 years old. When they get ratty, they go to pet shelters or become rags. I try to only buy 3 new items each year. Tina

me: Oh wow a ted talk TED TALK COMMENTS: "I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING. I HAVE BOUGHT AMERICAN ALL MY LIFE AND IF AMERICAN IS NOT AN oPTiOn I bUy FrOm THriFt STORES"

love this

I just generally try to buy things that I will use for a long time. It's hard to do, when everything seems to be made so cheaply. I can sew a rip, but can't fix when the fabric wears so thin that it falls apart. I think there are a lot of people who, like me, are picky and/or frugal and try to keep our homes and closets free of clutter. But the people who don't care about that are probably not going to care, to be honest. People who get a new wardrobe every season or get a new phone just because a more trendy one came out. Out of sight, out of mind. I don't mean to shame these people, but there must be some better way of conveying a message to them. The overproduction of consumer goods is a product of the demand for cheap items made by cheap labor. It will take a lot of work to reduce this demand from people like ourselves, and an even longer time for manufacturing to reflect that decrease.

The clothing industry is like Big Agriculture - we are turned into addicts.

I give my unwanted cloths to a local thrift store that caters to low-income shoppers. I feel much better than if I were to throw them in some bin on a street corner to be hauled off to God-knows where.

It saves fashion up cycling

Yes! Innovating is CRITICAL...changing the way we bring...colours to our clothes... to "swish" amongst friends....RENT clothes!...shop thrift stores.... but... until then, TO STOP consuming is the best, we CAN do. What do you think??? Buying....what...we NEED... (not wishing that we need it! ;)....yes, to begin by responsibly thinking " DO I reallllly need this?" .... thank you so much for this informative video!!! helene :)

I buy much at thrift. I buy classic well made peices that wear for decades. I never by trendy or cheap. Less clothes better made clothes last longer.

Wow amazing video I opening 👌😏