MoneySavers & Green Products...

It’s never been too complicated to get rid of your old clothes. Just donate them. Goodwill, Salvation Army or your local thrift shop is open and ready for the donations. Even if you think that they are too tattered to be worn, they can still be used in recycling.

Recycling clothes, in the truest definition of the term, can be difficult. Textile recyclers don't have the time or the means to sort through individual donations, so often they only buy clothes from a collection site like a Goodwill or an AmVet drop-off center.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't donate your unusable clothing to a nonprofit. "The problem people have is that if clothing doesn't look presentable to them, they shouldn't donate it," says Larry Groipen, president of ERC Wiping Products, which sources the material for its cleaning cloths from textile recyclers and nonprofits.

However, "It can be recycled no matter what condition it's in," Groipen notes. Just be sure what you give is clean and dry, says Bragale. "Deeply soiled or mildewed clothing can contaminate an entire bin," she cautions, "and then it all has to go to the trash."

http://thegreenguide.com/doc/123/donatedclothes

If you travel abroad, recycle there.

When I travel I bring old clothes that I am ready to get rid of in my suitcase. You can either leave them with the house keeping staff of your hotel or hostel (leave a note to let them know that you don’t want them shipped to you) or give them to a charity there.

When I was in Peru, there were charities already set up to receive clothing and send it off to the poorer villages. I left most of the clothes I brought with me, save my hiking boots, and then proceeded to quickly re-use the new space in my suitcase with same local wears. It saves on what would otherwise be shipping costs and extra baggage fees. Plus your old clothes may mean a lot to someone in need.

But you don’t have to travel to a developing country to do this. Remember the US still has a 17% poverty rate. If I have a purse or a bag that I am done with, something that is still in good shape and not size specific, I’ll leave it in garbage pail (or near it) in my hotel room when I check out (again with a note saying I do not want this item). This way, the stuff you don’t use can once again become useful to another -- and it’s keeping salvageable goods out of the landfill.