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8 Things to Do with Clothes You Can’t Donate (2025)

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Are you looking for creative, sustainable, and useful ways to give your clothes a second life?

If you’ve got old clothes that are too damaged or worn out to donate, don’t toss them just yet. There are plenty of sustainable and practical ways to reuse, repurpose, or recycle them.

From upcycling to composting, here are practical and creative ways to handle old clothes:

Repair & Revive First

Before getting rid of clothes, consider whether they can be saved with a quick fix.

Simple fixes you can try:

  • Remove stains (e.g., lemon juice or baking soda for armpit discoloration)
  • Patch holes with fabric or iron-on patches
  • Fix a snagged sweater by gently pulling the thread back through
  • Use clear nail polish to stop a run in tights
  • Unstick a zipper with a cotton swab and olive oil
What to do with old clothes that cannot be donated

Recycle Old Fabrics

You can send old clothes to one of the 20+ textile recycling companies or take back initiatives. A couple of options include:

Compost Natural Fibers

You can compost old clothes that you cannot donate that are made from natural fibers such as cotton, linen, bamboo, hemp, silk, jute, cork, cashmere, or wool.

Cotton, linen, jute, and hemp break down the fastest, while others, like bamboo and wool, will take a lot longer, but eventually, they will biodegrade. 

To compost clothes from natural fibers:

  • To keep the balance in your compost pile, make sure you add them alongside veggie peelings or garden cuttings.
  • Don’t overwhelm your compost pile with too many fabrics.
  • Cut down the materials into smaller pieces, so it breaks down faster.
  • Remove all tags, buttons, zippers, etc., which aren’t biodegradable. 

Donate for Non-Wearable Use

Even if clothing can’t be worn, it can still serve a purpose elsewhere. Here are a few ideas for where to donate:

  • Animal shelters: Use old towels, blankets, and t-shirts as pet bedding or cleaning rags
  • Schools or community centers: Great for arts, crafts, or costume materials
  • Facebook Buy Nothing / Freecycle groups: Someone might use them for DIYs
What to do with old clothes that cannot be donated

Repurpose Into Useful Household Items

Upcycle fabric into cleaning cloths or useful home goods. A few simple ideas include:

  • Cleaning rags: Cut t-shirts and towels into squares
  • Reusable tote bags: Cut off the sleeves and bottom of a t-shirt, tie or sew shut [step-by-step video guide]
  • Handkerchiefs or napkins: Cut from old cotton shirts
  • Pillow covers: Sew from old shirts, sweaters, or flannel pajamas

Turn Into DIY Projects & Crafts

Turn your old clothes into something new and creative, like:

  • Scrunchies: Use leftover fabric strips [how to DIY scrunchies]
  • Headbands: Braid t-shirt yarn or tie tights into loops
  • Aprons: Use sturdy fabrics like denim or canvas shirts [step-by-step guide]
  • Patchwork quilts or t-shirt blankets: Save logo shirts and combine them into a memory quilt
  • Tie-dye old t-shirts: Refresh faded shirts using food-based or traditional dyes [check this fun YouTube tutorial by Shmoxd that shows how to tie-dye t-shirts naturally by using vegetable dyes]
How To Tie Dye (with FRUITS & VEGGIES)

Make Toys from Fabric Scraps

Turn single socks, gloves, or denim into toys for kids or pets. Some DIY toy ideas:

Make Functional Items

Transform fabric into something you’ll use regularly.

Easy projects:

Final Thoughts

The next time you’re staring at a pile of unwearable clothes, don’t reach for the trash. From crafting and composting to donating and DIYing, there are plenty of options to creatively and responsibly deal with old textiles.

  • You save money
  • You reduce landfill waste
  • You may even pick up a fun new hobby

Do you have more ideas for what to do with old clothes that cannot be donated? Drop them in the comments!

What to do with old clothes that cannot be donated
Upcycled jeans into a denim bag by Pretty Mary

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One Comment

  1. It is difficult to find a way to recycle expensive drapery fabric that is good and can be used.
    Also, at one time, there were drop offs of unusable clothing that was shredded and made new fabric/items from old.

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