We see and hear about them on the news all the time. For people affected by natural disasters, fires, floods, and the homeless, the Red Cross is at hand, providing food, shelter, blankets and clothes until they can get back on their feet. You might have wished that you could be one of those heroic helpers. Not all of us can give up our jobs and families to help those in need, but we can all help the Red Cross carry out its tasks. You don’t even need a lot of money to help out – Red Cross donations can consist of clothes as well as cash.
Because it is one of the most trusted charities around the world, you can be sure that your Red Cross donations will go directly to those in need. And by donating your used clothes instead of throwing them away, you’re making an environmentally-friendly choice.
Donating to the Red Cross
It might not seem like a lot, but used clothing donations are very important for charities. Especially with Red Cross donations, when you donate clothing, it’s going directly to people in need. The reason why we feel so much empathy for victims of natural disasters is that it could happen to anybody. An extraordinary amount of rain, an unstoppable wildfire and people are looking at their homes and lives being washed away or burnt down.
Every time such disasters happen, the Red Cross is there to help, 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. Providing help in the form of blankets, food, blood and shelter, it also offers hope and courage to rebuild those lives and homes.
The American National Red Cross is one of the major trusted charities and receives a large number of donations. In 2014, it received private donations worth $687 million. People know that Red Cross donations will be used to provide direct help to those in need.
How your used clothing can help
If you’re like most Americans, you have too many clothes. Altogether, Americans buy almost 20 billion garments a year. That works out to 68 garments and 7 pairs of shoes for each person, or more than one clothing item bought every week. And every once in a while, people do get down to wedding out their closets, throwing away old clothes that might be in perfectly good shape but that aren’t being worn any more.
But there are better choices than just throwing away clothes. If you donate clothes instead, you’re passing them on to someone who can get good use out of them.
Reusing old clothes is environmentally-friendly
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that every year, Americans throw away 10 pounds of clothes each, on average. Rather than throwing way clothing, if you donate clothes to the Red Cross, you’re doing several good things at once.
You’re helping the Red Cross carry out their task of helping those in need. You’re keeping your used clothes out of a landfill. And you’re giving good, usable, clothes to someone who might not be able to afford to buy them new.
So the next time you stand in front of your closet, determined to get rid of the stuff that you never wear and that’s just taking up space, don’t throw it out. Bring it to a clothing donation center. Like other Red Cross donations, you can be sure that it will be put to good use.
