It’s a world-wide problem.

So much of our unwanted clothing ends up in landfills. There’s a new plan underway in San Francisco that gives new life to our clothes and textiles.

San Francisco State Professor Connie Ulasewicz talked to KRON 4’s Marty Gonzalez about the Wear Movement. Ulasewicz showed bags that were recycled from outdoor banners that used to hang from street signs. 

Ulasewicz also pointed out that 4% of waste in SF is a textile waste, and that 150 million tons of used textile waste are generated in the U.S. every year. 

The Wear Movement, currently at SFSU is a project dedicated to easing the strain on the environment by extending the life cycle of clothing. 

Because most used clothing ends up in landfills, the project helps the City of San Francisco meet its goal of reduced disposal (landfill and incineration) by 50 percent by 2030.

Recycling and reusing clothing also reduces the emissions associated with the production of new clothes, which has a huge environmental impact.

Ulasewicz says “it takes 700 gallons of water to make one T-shirt: to grow the cotton, clean it, spin the yarn, dye it. There’s all of that, and then you wear it five times and it sits in the closet and gets used for rags. We can’t do that anymore.” 

You can donate clothing for re-use by SFSU students through the Wear Movement, which collects clothing on Wednesday from 10:30 a.m to noon at the Cesar Chavez Student Center on campus. 

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