The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) says, almost 100 per cent of used clothing and household textiles in the US can be re-used or recycled: 45 per cent are re-used as apparel; 30 per cent are converted into industrial polishing/wiping cloths and 20 per cent are processed into fiber to be manufactured into new products. 95 per cent of all used clothing is recyclable, only 5 per cent is unusable due to mildew or other contamination.

As per reports, the amount of textile waste generated by the US has doubled over the last 20 years. In 2014,16.2 million tons of textile waste was generated, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Of this amount, 2.62 million tons was recycled, 3.14 million tons was combusted for energy recovery, and 10.46 million tons was sent to the landfill.

Consumers are regarded as the main culprit for throwing away their used clothing, as only 15 per cent of consumer-used clothing is recycled, whereas more than 75 per cent of pre-use clothing is recycled by the manufacturers. The average person buys 60 per cent more items of clothing every year and keeps them for about half as long as 15 years ago, generating a huge amount of waste.