The Life Cycle of Your Clothes: When to Keep, Donate, or Dispose
Everything has a life cycle! Know the practical lifespan of your clothes.
The two most important aspects of disposing of any item are maintenance and use.
Every product has a useful life span, and clothing is no exception. However, its cycle depends on factors such as washing, drying, ironing, repair, and care, which will determine whether it is valid, depending on the material and use.
But we often don't know when it's time to change our clothes, and that's why Axiology offers a guide that helps you determine when to throw away a garment and why it should be replaced. First, it's important to be clear that when we buy clothes, two things are prioritized in terms of their cycle: maintenance and use.
Maintenance
Washing, drying, ironing, and mending your garments are crucial for maintaining perfect condition. Following the clothes label's instructions is crucial for ensuring that the garments' expected useful life matches their actual life.
Usage
This aspect is related to the duration of use of the garment. If they are used and reused more often, their environmental impact is less, so combining them in different ways and styles is important.
Other aspects to consider are:
Expiration date
The average useful life of each garment is two years. However, everything depends on how we use them and their proper care. It is also important to remember that they should be discontinued when they are no longer in good condition, lose elasticity, fade in color, or the material is no longer woven.
A garment does not end its life cycle when it is no longer used. On the contrary, if it is in good condition, it can be resold, donated, or recycled. This is important because it offers an alternative to the current fashion production and consumption model, where clothes are made, used, and thrown away, towards a more circular model.
During decay or decomposition
Many times, we do not know how long it takes for a garment, T-shirt, or pants to decompose, which depends on the material from which it is made; if we talk about organic fiber clothing, viscose decomposes in a few weeks; cotton and linen decompose in about six months; wool takes one to five years to produce, and silk takes one to three years. If we talk about synthetic fibers, lycra and polyester can decompose in 20 to 200 years, and nylon can take between 30 and 40 years.
The environmental impact plays a fundamental role here, as the time it takes for clothes to decompose releases toxic gases that can harm the environment and contaminate soil and water.
What should we do when we no longer like our clothes?
If we no longer like it and it is in good condition, we should not throw it away. In that case, we can donate it or sell it.
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