Did you know that the average Canadian throws away 81 pounds of textiles every single year! AND, in all of North America, people "send over 10 millions tonnes of clothing to landfill each year - 95% which could be recycled or reused”?

If people are constantly rejecting their wardrobe, they need to constantly purchase new clothes to replace it - but only clothes that are up-to-date with the latest fashion trends of course. Since textiles are not being recycled, donated and reused nearly as much as they should, when people do shop for textile products, they will likely be buying brand-new. With all of this considered, there is an overwhelming demand for new clothing and other textile products.

As a result, greenhouse gas emissions related to clothing production are sky-high. In fact, the fashion industry is responsible for one-tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The problem doesn't end there. Other resources required to produce textile products like water, cotton and dye are being exploited to meet this extreme demand. Rivers and waterbodies are being drained, and dyes used in textile production stray off into waterways where they contaminate ecosystems. As you can see, this is a complex and urgent issue.

By 2017, Markham recognized this, and they decided that they had to intervene. They had to do something. So in April of that year, they launched the Markham Textile Recycling Program. The program allows Markham residents to drop-off any worn-down or unwanted textiles to blue textile recycling bins dispersed throughout the city so that they can be donated or used to manufacture new products including paper and rags. Everything from wholy socks to worn down towels to unwanted hoodies are welcome. Immediately, the initiative was a huge success: "the amount of textiles diverted from landfill during the pilot offset 28,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, saved 95.2 million litres of water and avoided 761 tonnes of chemicals compared to the production of “virgin” fabrics." Not only that, but with over 150 locations across the city today, the program created a wealth of jobs. Since then, their success has inspired other municipalities to follow in their footsteps, like Durham, Newmarket and Georgina.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if all of the other Ontario municipalities established their own Textile Recycling Programs? Imagine how much greenhouse gas emissions would be avoided, how much waste could be diverted, and how much better the planet could breathe.

Please stand with me and sign: call on the provincial government to bring this vision to life; to make Textile Recycling Programs Ontario-wide! Thank you! Make sure to share this petition too!

Of course, change is embedded in the daily habits of each and every one of us, so what else can you do on a regular basis to prevent textile waste? Here's some ideas:

1. Buy only the clothes that you need and that you will actually wear. Keep in mind that even if you ensure you donate or recycle all of your unwanted clothing, there is a small percentage that will end up in the landfill. So it's best to minimalize your clothing purchases.
2. Never throw away unwanted clothes! If these are in good enough condition, donate them to a local charity. Otherwise, send these clothes to a textile recycling bin near you (if one exists).

As always, thank you so much for reading. I genuinely appreciate your signature, support and dedication to saving Planet Earth.

Sources:

• https://www.markham.ca/wps/portal/home/news/markhams-award-winning-recycling-program
• https://rco.on.ca/the-average-person-throws-away-37-kilograms-of-textiles-annually/#:~:text=The%20average%20person%20throws%20away,annually%20%E2%80%93%20Recycling%20Council%20of%20Ontario
• https://fcm.ca/en/programs/green-municipal-fund/compendium/compendium-case-studies/pilot-program-proves-textile-recycling-within-reach
• https://globalnews.ca/news/4774400/fast-fashion-environmental-impacts-tips-consumers/#:~:text=Well%2C%20what%20about%20textile%20waste,released%20as%20they%20slowly%20decompose