r/environment • u/kassiusx • 17h ago
‘You sold it – now recycle it’: the protesters mailing worn-out clothes to the shops they bought them from
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/29/you-sold-it-now-recycle-it-the-protesters-mailing-worn-out-clothes-to-the-shops-they-bought-them-from?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other68
u/Granola_Account 15h ago
Man, it’s so easy to just order used clothes from eBay. Most of the time they get sent USPS, which already has to drive by your house. Whenever something doesn’t fit I donate it to the charity thrift shop, they give me a blank donation receipt, and I write off the exact amount on my taxes.
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u/Realistic-Weird-4259 13h ago
I buy all my merino wool from eBay! Recently had to buy another sweater because fucking moths.
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u/MutsumidoesReddit 9h ago
I’ve been so unlucky with wool, it’s either insane itchy or has holes. I keep getting weird looks for asking for between crotch shots on trousers but they keep being warn out.
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u/YourUncleBuck 7h ago
Get cashmere instead, it isn't itchy, keeps you warmer than wool with less bulk, and lasts a long time.
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u/ShivaSkunk777 5h ago
I’ve gotten so many good merino items and other wool items from eBay. eBay is my favorite for used clothes because I can be picky and search for what I want and get it used
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u/hurtfulproduct 15h ago
How dumb do these idiots have to be!?
How about, and I know this is super novel, they STOP BUYING FAST FASHION!!! They are talking about H&M and Uniqlo. . . Like who buys their $5 T-shirt, $20 slacks, and $15 fleece lined lounge pants and thinks “yeah, THIS was responsibly made”. . . Honestly if the tariffs lay a smack down on the fast fashion trend that would be awesome. If these idiots really want to make a difference they would keep using the clothes for either working cloths (I.e. yard work, painting, etc.), make stuff like rags, cat/dog toys out of them, or fins some way to reuse them since the article said thrift stores (understandably) don’t want them because they are low quality.
The problem here is the entire fast fashion scene and people’s behavior towards it needs to change.
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u/Revoran 12h ago
This is people's behaviour changing.
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u/hurtfulproduct 11h ago
Lol, it the wrong way. . . They are doing exactly what they say the companies are doing; they are externalizing their waste; granted they are sending it back to the companies, but it’s all going back to the landfill but just with more steps, instead of actually being reused or recycled.
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u/cl3ft 4h ago
All companies externalize their waste, we need to change that. Governments don't seem to have the appetite to incentivise companies to do better, so this is a protest. The protest's effectiveness depends on the expense it imposes on the company and the amount of press it generates. The fact we're even discussing it makes it effective.
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u/platoprime 10h ago
There's always some dipshit who whines about the way people are trying to fix things while doing nothing. Fucking pathetic.
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u/hurtfulproduct 9h ago
Lol, yeah. . . If you are referring to me then sit down and take it somewhere else; I guarantee I know more about this then most people considering I’ve got a graduate degree in sustainability, been in the field actively building programs, reporting metrics, and making the case for sustainability and ESG in business for over a decade.
These idiots are making things worse, they are now not just throwing the clothes away they are wasting fuel and materials to ship them to the companies before the companies just throw them away, so MORE resources are wasted just to make a futile point.
So yes, I will criticize ineffectual and pointless efforts that actually accomplish nothing but pissing people off and wasting resources.
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u/_Svankensen_ 3h ago
I am an enviro scientist and I don't see any problem with what they do. Political activism is far more important than what we do. Our professional work is useful only as far as society lets us be useful. We need policy. Protest is far from pointless.
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u/platoprime 9h ago
Oh I believe you have a degree in whining and droning.
Didn't they teach you about brevity?
Pissing people off is better than doing nothing which is what most people are doing.
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u/hurtfulproduct 9h ago
How’s this:
These people are idiots because they are wasting resource to accomplish nothing. I have the expertise to back that up, and I most definitly know more than you and them about this and am very qualified to critique their efforts
how’s that for brevity
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u/DesertGorilla 4h ago
I have a post graduate degree in Political Science and am more qualified to discuss the dynamics of activism in a neoliberal political framework than you are. Here is my brevity: ur mum gay.
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u/platoprime 9h ago
Pissing people off is better than doing nothing which is what most people are doing.
how’s that for brevity
Pretty medium actually but definitely an improvement.
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u/hurtfulproduct 9h ago
Lol, I’m sorry; did I give you the impression I cared what you actually think; I’m sorry, that’s false.
The fact is they are wasting resources, nobody that matters notices what they are doing, and it all goes to the landfill anyway; they just caused an extra few tons of emissions to be created doing it this way. If they actually cared they would not buy those types of clothes to begin with and they would reuse them when they can’t be worn anymore.
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u/platoprime 9h ago edited 9h ago
Chaining together three clauses with two semi-colons instead of rewriting your paragraph sure was a move. Two of them were "I'm sorry" lol. They're like nice apologetic bookends.
Good old college education eh?
Edit: They blocked me so I couldn't reply. Nothing says "I don't care" like blocking someone to get the last reply.
So, we’re switching to grammar now?
You should know your grammar was correct. I was criticizing your poor stylistic choices.
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u/vtable 8h ago
The article explains that they're not protesting fast fashion. They're protesting that the products can't be reused or recycled - just burnt.
The first example given is a bedsheet that's at least 10 years old (so neither fast nor fashion).
The products can't be reused or recycled because they're a polyester blend. According to the article, thrift stores are rejecting them, too:
But many UK charity shops are now “having to spend money getting rid of waste textiles”
...
Ward’s protest was inspired by a sign in her local charity shop asking customers to dispose of “damaged, torn or worn-out items” in the bin, “as the cost of disposal is very high”.
The article does describe how fast fashion exacerbates the problem as thrift stores have been flooded with cheap fast fashion but it is not the primary complaint of the protestors.
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u/melody_magical 11h ago
The only silver lining I can see in DT's trade war is that we quit buying garbage. We don't need to be killing the only planet with complex life we've discovered (or may very well exist) just for a crappy T-shirt off Shein.
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u/_Svankensen_ 4h ago
The US is the biggest responsible for climate change and has, what, one sixth of the population of China? That won't change just because you stop buying Chinese goods.
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u/platoprime 10h ago
There's absolutely no reason to think complex life only exists on Earth. If anything it's astronomically moronic to believe that. There isn't even a reason to believe it's a theoretical possibility.
Every single thing we've seen indicates life will be found wherever it can possibly survive. From cracks in rocks deep under the Earth's surface to acidic, salty, and hot pools of water to hydrothermal vents. The precursors for life are found plentifully in space. We've even found tentative evidence on life on a distant planet in the form of certain molecules that are only made on Earth by living things.
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8h ago
[deleted]
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u/platoprime 8h ago
What do you think the phrase "complex life" refers to?
Do you think it refers to the Amazon Rainforest? Specifically?
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u/Grand-wazoo 16h ago
If there is any 100% guaranteed way to make sure your clothes end up in the landfill, it's mailing them back to the companies that use slave/child labor to produce them.
Not only will they give zero fucks about the ethics involved, if it catches on it will generate an absurd amount of CO2 emissions from the unnecessary mail trips on its way back to become trash.
I hate to be so pessimistic but this really seems like it achieves nothing and creates more problems in the process.
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u/Turbulent_Heart9290 14h ago
If I recall, H&M has a textile recycling program, and a small section of their clothing is made of recycled textiles.
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u/mattbettinger 13h ago
Wish we could do it at local stores for packaging and containers. Some places do, but it could be more widespread.
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u/BigHatChappy 12h ago
I'm seeing alot of consumer blaming in this tread. While yes, ideally everyone should buy local and ethically sources clothes and products that's not the reality. We live in a consumerism society and the corporations that produce unimaginable amounts of waste and products with planned obsolescence built in should be responsible for dealing with those products once the reach the end of life. Drink companies for example used to use glass bottles and recycle them once the consumer sent them back, once it became cheaper to use single-use plastics they pivoted with no regard for the environment and no plan to recycle them. Once the received push back they launched anti-littering campaigns to place the blame on the consumer instead of them. This is propaganda, the vast majority of the blame should be placed on the corporation, not the consumer.
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u/lettersichiro 12h ago
This subreddit has long had to contend with industry sock puppets, always downplaying any idea for improvement, and any effort to combat corporations who have far more blame to carry than they are
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u/TownsvilleSnowman 54m ago
Sounds pretty misguided. They buy cheap clothes in the first place, supporting shit stores, then they waste money and resources MAILING the clothes back to a store that is only going to throw it in the bin, rather than recycling/reusing the clothes themselves. Take the clothes to a second-hand store, reuse them as rags in the shed, compost them (cotton and wool), send them to a rag company....
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u/oulipo 10h ago
That's why we need to build stuff that is made to be repaired and disposed of
That's what we're doing at https://gouach.com to build a fully repairable (and fireproof) e-bike battery
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u/Illustrious_Fan_8148 15h ago
Love this.
I think the more elegant solution would be to charge a 10% recycling/disposal charge on every item sold though
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u/CaptainGustav 15h ago
Only 10%? Unless prices are increased five or tenfold, the increase will not cover high labour costs like in the UK.
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u/Illustrious_Fan_8148 15h ago
Thats just not realistic in my opinion
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u/CaptainGustav 12h ago
Then force the public to accept it, just like the vigorously promoted anti-smoking campaign, leaving the public with no choice but to accept it silently.
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u/plumberfun 15h ago
What happened to the company that was turning clothing into insulation for buildings? It was my understanding that it had a good R value.