Recycling facts

An estimated 12.4 million tons of textiles were generated in 2008,or 5% of total municipal solid waste (MSW) generation.

The textile recycling industry annually prevents 2.5 billion pounds of post consumer textile product waste from entering the solid waste stream, according to the council for textile recycling.

This 2.5 billion pounds post consumer textile waste represents 10 pounds for every person in the United States.

Between 1990 and 2003, The United States exported nearly 7 billion pounds of used clothing and worn textiles products around the world (World Trade Atlas). The average American throws away 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per year.

While a few communities have textile recycling programs, about 85 percent of this waste goes to landfills where it occupies about 4 percent of landfill space.