What to actually do with your unwanted clothes — and how to buy and look after them so you have fewer to get rid of

What to actually do with your unwanted clothes — and how to buy and look after them so you have fewer to get rid of.

Published by Samantha, founder of Teddy Locks

Most wardrobe clear-outs end the same way. A bag to the charity shop, a bag to the bin, and a vague feeling that you've done something useful. Then, within a few months, the wardrobe is full again.

This is a practical guide to doing something more deliberate — with the clothes you're getting rid of, the clothes you already own, and the choices you make when you buy.

Part one: what to do with clothes you no longer want

*If it's wearable and in good condition*

This is the most valuable category and deserves the most care. A wearable garment in good condition can be worn again by someone else — that's the best possible outcome for a piece of clothing that already exists.

Resale is the highest-value route. Vinted, Depop, eBay, and local Facebook selling groups are all accessible and free to list on. A well-photographed item with an accurate description will usually sell within a week or two. The money goes to you rather than a charity or middleman, and you know exactly where the garment is going.

Charity shops are a good second option, particularly for items that would take effort to photograph and list individually. Choose TRAID or Oxfam over anonymous clothing banks if possible — both operate transparent UK-based sorting facilities rather than exporting mixed bales abroad. Local hospice shops, animal rescue shops, and smaller independent charities typically have lower donation volumes and can take more time with each item.

Clothes swaps are underused. Many community centres, workplaces, and local Facebook groups run them. You bring what you no longer wear, you take what someone else has outgrown. No money changes hands. It is the most circular possible outcome.

*If it's worn but still intact — faded, pilled, slightly stretched*

Most charity shops won't put these items on the shop floor, but they will accept them for recycling. TRAID accepts all textiles regardless of condition. Oxfam accepts worn items. The M&S Shwopping scheme, run in partnership with Oxfam, accepts any brand in any condition and offers a free postal return option. H&M's in-store garment collection takes any brand, any condition.

These items are likely to be downcycled — turned into insulation material, industrial rags, or stuffing — rather than worn again. That's a legitimate use of the material. It's better than landfill.

*Underwear, worn-out socks, and tights*

Most charity shops won't accept used underwear for the shop floor, which is correct. But several will take it for recycling rather than resale. TRAID accepts all textiles including worn underwear. Oxfam accepts worn underwear and routes it through its Huddersfield sorting facility for recycling. M&S Shwopping through Oxfam accepts it. The Salvation Army textile banks accept it.

Whatever you donate, it needs to be clean. Stained is fine for recycling — a grass mark or wine stain doesn't disqualify an item. Soiled (biologically contaminated) is not fine — it contaminates entire bales of otherwise recyclable material.

*If it's 100% wool, 100% cotton, or 100% linen*

These are the most valuable items for textile recyclers. A pure wool jumper reaching iinouiio in Huddersfield, the UK's only functioning wool recycling mill, may genuinely become new yarn. Pure fibre is the feedstock recyclers need. If you have significant quantities of pure natural fibre garments — from a wardrobe clear-out or an estate — TRAID and WRAP's textile recycling database (wrap.ngo) can help you find the right route.

*What not to put in the bin*

Even damaged, unwearable textiles have a recycling or downcycling route available. Putting them in general waste means incineration or landfill — the worst possible outcome. There is almost always a better option, even for the most worn-out item.

Part two: how to look after what you already own.

The most sustainable garment is the one you already have. Extending the life of your existing clothes by even a few extra years makes a more significant environmental difference than almost any purchasing choice you could make.

Wash less. Most clothes don't need washing after every wear. Denim, knitwear, outerwear, and structured items rarely need to be washed at all — they can be aired, spot-cleaned, or steamed between wears. Washing is the primary cause of fabric degradation, colour loss, and microplastic shedding. The fewer times you wash something, the longer it lasts.

Wash cold. A 30°C wash cleans most everyday clothing effectively and uses significantly less energy than a 40°C or 60°C cycle. Hot washing degrades elastic fibres, causes colour fading, and shrinks natural fibres. Reserve higher temperatures for bedding and towels where hygiene genuinely requires it.

Turn clothes inside out before washing. This reduces abrasion on the visible surface of the fabric — the side you actually see — and significantly slows colour fading, particularly in dark garments and denim.

Use a Guppyfriend bag or similar microplastic filter. Synthetic fabrics shed microplastic fibres in every wash. A Guppyfriend washing bag — a fine mesh laundry bag — captures a significant proportion of those fibres before they enter the wastewater system. It costs around £25 and pays for itself many times over in microplastic reduction.

Air dry where possible. Tumble drying is the single most damaging thing you can routinely do to fabric — the heat degrades elastic, shrinks natural fibres, and significantly shortens garment life. Air drying on a rack takes longer but extends the usable life of almost everything.

Store properly. Knitwear folded rather than hung — hanging on a peg stretches the shoulders permanently. Structured jackets and coats on proper coat hangers with shoulder support. Leather stored away from direct sunlight. Shoes stored in pairs with the shape maintained.

Repair instead of replacing. A loose button takes two minutes to sew back on. A small hole in a sock can be darned in five. A split seam in a pair of trousers is a ten-minute job for any alterations tailor and costs a few pounds. The barrier to repair is almost never skill or cost — it's habit. The next time something breaks before the rest of the garment is worn out, repair it first.

Part three: how to buy better.

Buying less and buying better sounds like a luxury position — only available to people who can afford to. There is truth in that, and it's worth acknowledging honestly. But it is also worth examining how much of our clothing spend is on things we actually wear versus things we buy and barely touch.

Ask the cost-per-wear question before buying. A £12 T-shirt worn twice before it falls apart costs £6 per wear. A £45 T-shirt worn 200 times over five years costs 22p per wear. The economics of quality clothing are almost always better than fast fashion over any meaningful time horizon. This isn't always accessible at the point of purchase, but it's the right frame for evaluating what you're buying.

Buy for your actual life, not an aspirational one. Most wardrobes contain items bought for occasions that rarely or never happen — a formal event, a holiday that got cancelled, a fitness phase that passed. Clothes that fit your actual weekly routine get worn. Clothes that fit a version of your life you aspire to mostly don't. Be honest about what you actually do.

Prioritise natural or certified recycled fibres where possible. Check labels. Avoid high elastane content where you can — it makes garments comfortable but makes them almost impossible to recycle. Look for GOTS (organic cotton), Global Recycle Standard (recycled synthetics), or Oeko-Tex Standard 100 (tested for harmful substances) as baseline certifications worth trusting.

Buy secondhand first for trend pieces. If you want something fashionable — a colour or silhouette that's current this season — buy it secondhand. Trend items have the shortest useful life and the worst cost-per-wear profile when bought new. Vinted and Depop both have excellent search functionality. The same item you'd buy new for £40 often exists on Vinted for £8.

Support brands that tell you what's in their products. Any brand that can't or won't tell you what their garments are made from, where they were made, and what certifications they hold should not get the benefit of the doubt. Transparency is not difficult for a brand that has nothing to hide. It is a choice.

Teddy Locks socks are made from REPREVE® recycled polyester, TENCEL™ lyocell, and a small amount of spandex for stretch. The fibre composition and certifications are listed on every product page. When they reach the end of their life, we'd recommend donating them worn-out to TRAID rather than binning them.

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