Textile waste is a massive and growing contributor to our climate crisis — 92 million tons of textiles end up in landfills each year, and textile waste is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions. We increasingly buy more stuff, use it less often, and then throw it away — not exactly a recipe for reducing our carbon impact.
And yet, as a busy working parent of two growing girls, I know how easy and “cheap” it is to buy stuff from Amazon, on demand, to serve a short-term need. If you’re like me, you want to do better but have trouble even finding the time to know where to start.
Luckily for us Oak Parkers, we have an incredible set of local circular economy resources at our disposal, brought to you by beloved nonprofits, resident entrepreneurs, and the village itself. These sources make it almost as easy, and much more affordable, to keep you and your family clothed and responsibly recycle items that have run their course.
The semi-annual Hephzibah Kids Resale Event, for instance, which takes place this weekend in Forest Park, regularly raises five-figure sums for their incredible foster care program. It also provides affordable clothing options to the community and keeps thousands of pieces of clothing out of the landfill — an incredible win-win for community and environmental impact. My girls’ wardrobe is almost 100% Hephzibah-sourced (which makes me feel much better when their style changes mid-year and they refuse to wear half of it!).
Meanwhile, women who have invested in higher quality items for their kids or themselves can earn some cash when they are ready to part with them. Selling on sites like eBay and Poshmark takes a lot of work, comes with big fees, and requires shipping. The easiest and most sustainable approach is to sell locally.
For years the Oak Park Mom’s Resale page has been a helpful resource, but I’m particularly excited by a new Oak Park-specific resale platform called Project Preloved. Founded this year by an Oak Park mom, Project Preloved is looking to create a community-centered approach to online resale that’s more user-friendly than the traditional Facebook listing. If you can’t find a buyer, someone will surely take it for free on the Free to a Good Home Oak Park Facebook page.
Eventually, of course, many of our clothes, shoes, and other textiles become stained, worn, ripped, and not fit for donation or sale. Thanks to a new village textile recycling service, you never have to throw these away again. As an Oak Park resident, you can log in to https://simplerecycling.com, schedule a pick-up, and put your bag o’ stuff on your porch. Done.
To make this as easy for me as possible, I now have three bins in my basement: one for semi-annual Hephzibah donation, one for recycling, and one for resale. The minute an item no longer works for us, I immediately toss it in the appropriate bin. Twice a year, I bag up and donate whatever is in the Hephzibah bin. When the recycling bin is full, I bag it, schedule a pick up and put it on my porch. And when I find a spare moment, I promise I will post items on Project Preloved and hope my pre-2020 professional wardrobe can find a new life.
* Close readers may notice that these resources are primarily focused on women’s and children’s clothing. I’m admittedly not aware of any local men’s resale sites, which, if my husband is at all representative of the broader Oak Park male population, I assume is because men wear clothing up until the point that it just disintegrates into thin air.
Nicole Chavas, an Oak Park resident with a background in urban planning, is president and co-founder of Greenprint Partners, a firm that manages climate resiliency and stormwater management projects.
Correction, Sept. 27, 5:38 p.m. This letter has been updated to reflect the correct date of the Hephzibah regular sale. It is Sept. 28.