Clothing

Do not include clothing, fabric, or shoes in your curbside recycling. Cloth is a tangler that will tie up the sorting equipment at the recycling facility.

Donate or Recycle Clothing

Donate usable clothing, fabric, and other textiles to a charitable organization. Local Buy Nothing Groups (search for one near you on Facebook) are a great way to share clothing with your neighbors. Good, usable clothing can be dropped off at a collection bin or store operated by local charities. For local donation opportunities, see the list below.

Many clothing companies offer brand-specific recycling programs. Some are listed below. Search online for other brands you may own.

• GUESS Again apparel recycling program
• H&M Garment Collection & Recycling 
• Patagonia Worn Wear trade-in program for clothing and gear. See additional details.
• Zappos Blue Jeans Goes Green denim recycling program

Bras

Several mail-in bra recycling programs exist, such as Harper Wilde's mailback Recycle, Bra Kit. Search online to see if your brand offers a recycling program. You can also use a local drop-off program such as The Bra Recyclers or I Support The Girls.

Formal and Professional Wear

Some schools collect formal wear for students who need access to clothing for prom. Check with your local school. PEARLS Closet at Malachi Center in Cleveland hosts a Say Yes to the Prom Dress event for girls in the spring. Contact the organization for details. Fairy Godmothers operates a Cinderella's Closet dress donation program in the Columbus area. Altrusa International of Akron hosts a Princess Night Prom Dress Giveaway in early spring. Becca's Closet distributes formalwear from volunteer-led chapters throughout the U.S, and has a local chapter in Canton.

Dress for Success Cleveland accepts up-to-date and on-trend women's attire for all professions. Passages Cleveland accepts men's professional wear.

Looking to donate a wedding dress? See the list of donation locations below or check out this Martha Stewart Living blog post for additional ideas.

Donate or Recycle Shoes

Many shoe brands offer brand-specific recycling programs. Some are listed below. Search online for brands you may own. 

• Native Shoes Remix™ Project
• Nike and Converse Factory Stores Reuse-A-Shoe Program. See a list of drop-off locations.
• Rothy's Recycling
• TevaForever Recycling Program through TerraCycle for Teva brand sandals and flip-flops.

Choose a program like EcoSneakers, GotSneakers, or Sneaker Impact to host a shoe drive to collect, repurpose, and recycle shoes. See a review of other shoe recycling programs.

Learn More

Learn more about sustainable clothing and textiles from Rust Belt Fibershed or review our blog post about sustainable fashion.

Textiles

Learn more about recycling textiles, fabric, and cloth, including unusable clothing.

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Looking to recycle, donate, or dispose of other items? Use the dark blue 'What Do I Do With?' search bar at the top of every page of this website. Allow location services or use the city drop-down to find opportunities in your local area.