People in China throw away 26 million tons of clothing each year. That’s a huge amount. Most small cars weigh about one ton. Imagine 26 million cars made of T-shirts and shorts! 

Some companies are trying to reuse as much of the trashed clothing as possible. Much of the clothing in the landfill is made of cotton. Cotton can be repurposed. 

At the Wenzhou Tiancheng Textile Company in Wenzhou, China, mounds of discarded cotton clothing lie on the floor. Jacket sleeves, collars, and brand labels peek out from the stacks. Workers feed the garments into shredding machines.

It’s the first stage of a new life for these unwanted clothes.

But factories like this one face a big problem. In China, it’s cheap and trendy to buy clothes made from synthetic material (like plastic). About seven out of 10 pieces of clothes bought in China are made of materials that can’t easily be reused. 

And recycling comes with a catch.

In China, it’s illegal to use recycled cotton to make new garments. (The rule was meant to stop companies from using contaminated material. But it stops Chinese companies from using any recycled cotton at all.) The huge spools of yarn made at the Wenzhou Tiancheng factory must be sold to other countries.

Reusing the 26 million tons of clothes isn’t a complete solution. Young people in China try other ways to cut down on waste. Some work with other kinds of trash. Reclothing Bank in China sells clothes made from plastic bottles, fishing nets, and flour sacks.

Since cheap clothing is so wasteful, young designers hope to make secondhand or recycled outfits trendy. Shoes made from Coke bottles, anyone?

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you? — Matthew 6:30