7 things to do with clothes you don't wear anymore

Give your old clothes a new lease of life with these tips!

We all have a dress we feel great in or a favourite jacket that we'll rewear for decades to come. But sometimes we fall out of love with our clothes, whether that's because they're falling apart, no longer fit well or they're simply not our style anymore.

Around 300,000 tonnes of used but wearable clothes end up in landfill every year in the USA. Not only is this a waste of the resources, energy and water that it takes to make the clothes, but textiles also emit harmful greenhouse gases when they break down in landfill.

We're not suggesting that you keep wearing clothes you no longer like, however, there are ways to give them a new lease of life, either in your wardrobe or in someone else's!

1. Zap stains

For shirts that have been tainted by old sweat stains, try mixing the juice from a lemon with an equal amount of water. Apply to the stained area and scrub in well with a nailbrush. Place in a sunny spot and allow to dry — lemon juice and sunlight are both good bleaching agents and will help fade the stain. Follow by washing as normal. Bear in mind, the older the sweat stain, the harder it is to remove.

For mystery stains, it's best to first begin with a stain-removal method least likely to cause damage. For this, we suggest soaking the item in cold water and then soaking it in lukewarm water with some liquid detergent, ideally biological as long we you're not dealing with wool, silk or other protein-based fibres. If the stain remains, treat with a proprietary stain remover following pack instructions.

2. Repair

With a few quick fixes up your sleeve, it’s possible to get more wear out of damaged clothes.

A cotton bud dipped in olive oil or petroleum jelly can help loosen a stuck zip and fallen hems can quickly be fixed using iron-on hemming tape.

For rips and tears that you’re not confident tackling at home, contact your local dry cleaner to see if they can help.

3. Donate to charity

Clothes that you have managed to restore to a good, wearable condition but no longer want can be donated to your local charity shop. If you come across a garment that you’re not sure is suitable for sale in a charity shop, it’s worth popping it in with your donations anyway.

4. Recycle

Alternatively, check if your local authority collects textiles for recycling. If not, use the Recycle Now online Recycling Locator tool to find a textiles recycling bank near you.

5. Cleaning cloths

Pure cotton t-shirts and towels make great cleaning cloths. Use a pair of sharp scissors to cut them up into squares roughly 40 x 40cm in size and add them to your cleaning kit.

6. Reuse buttons

Don’t forget to snip buttons off garments that are damaged beyond repair before you bin them. They might come in useful when you next need to replace a fastening on an otherwise unwearable piece of clothing!

7. Barter

You can use bartering to exchange your unwanted clothes in order to get new ones. For bartering, you can check Nextbartter.com to find several offers around you.