Mixed Rags & Recycling: Who Profits? “When someone throws a recycleable in the trash, it may end up in a landfill forever. Does the amount of trash in your neighborhood make your head spin? A strong commitment to recycling will in many ways benefit you, your community, and the environment.” Recycling is a $500 billion global industry, and according to the NY Post, “likely employs more people than any other industry on Earth except agriculture.” It is unclear from...

Credential Clothing: The Future of Recycling, by EcoGoodz Claudia Marsales has such zeal for recycling that she’s been nicknamed the “Queen of the Heap”. And this queen has set her sights on textile recycling. “For 30 years, we have been recycling newspapers. Textiles [have] just been off everybody’s radar,” she said. But the status quo is rapidly changing. Government agencies, non profits and charity organizations, and individual citizens such as...

The Global Trade of Mixed Rags, by EcoGoodz In October of last year, Dr. Sheng Lu, of the Department of Fashion & Apparel Studies, University of Delaware put together a comprehensive analysis of the global apparel and textile trade. You can study her full findings on her blog. Mixed Rags in an open market Over the last 20 years, the value of mixed rags as a commodity in the global marketplace has steadily increased. Used textiles (including household textiles such as bulk linens) can be...

Mixed Rags DIY: 3 Projects to Inspire You Do you have a pair or two of denim jeans you don’t wear anymore? Have your kids worn holes in their jeans and now you’re not sure what to do with them? You could recycle them. Municipal and private textile recycling firms would be happy to receive them; there is even a company that makes home insulation exclusively from the fiber of recycled denim jeans. You could also donate them where they will become mixed rags, an industry term for...