Hand me down recycling

Clothing donation (public domain photo)

Receiving hand me down clothes is like shopping without spending any money. Giving away used clothing is a very green thing for someone to do. Isn't it funny how we do this a lot but never think about how earth friendly it is? I recently received some hand me down clothes from my daughter. That started me thinking about how it's not only a wonderful, surprise gift, but green as well.

I was going to have to buy new clothes.

Now, I don't have to. That saves resources. Plus, not only do I get some free new clothes, I save myself a shopping trip. Going to the store to buy new clothes takes gas and adds to pollution levels. That's good enough greening for me.

More green benefits to hand me downs

Going green with hand me downs means not adding to the landfill. I'm pretty easy on clothes, too. So, chances are that when I get tired of them, they'll still be gently used. They can become hand me downs again.

What if I don't like the hand me downs?

Well, then, I'll hand them down to someone else who can use them or give them to goodwill. The same is true for those clothes that don't fit me. The nice thing about goodwill is that even if they can't re-sell donated clothing, they'll shred it for recycling.

Who knew hand me downs were so green?

It's amazing how much a small thing like handing down clothes instead of throwing them away can help the earth, isn't it? So, next time you're about to toss some outgrown clothes, stop to think who can use them. Or, simply donate them. You can save the planet, one dress at a time.