I've Culled My Closet: Now What?
You culled your closet, and it feels great! As you are standing there, looking at your rewarding work, perhaps making Rocky fist pumps into the air and doing happy dances (or is that just me?), you turn around and are suddenly weighed down by the remnants of wardrobe pieces that didn’t make the cut.
“I thought the work was done. What do I do now?” Read on, and I’ll walk you through your options and some resources to guide you.
Designer Revival, luxury and vintage consignment store in NYC
If you have pieces that are still in nice condition, I BEG you to consign, resell, donate, or recycle them. The benefits far outweigh any small inconvenience.
Extending the life cycle of the item is extra kind to our planet. The more people who choose to buy, sell, and wear secondhand items means less demand for factory-produced goods—and reducing the global carbon footprint. Yay!
By consigning, reselling, donating, and recycling you are keeping perfectly good clothing out of landfills. While natural fibers like cotton or linen take less time to biodegrade, synthetic fibers like nylon or polyester can take up to 200 years.
Because we promote kindness in all forms here, let’s be as extra kind to our planet as we can!
If You Want Some Cash Back: Consign or Resell
If you want to get some money back from your wardrobe investments, you can consign or resell your gently used items.
What Is the Difference?
Consignment is an arrangement in which a business (consignee) agrees to pay a seller (consignor) the cost or a percentage of the value of the merchandise after they’ve sold the items.
Pro: The payout can be higher, especially for designer or luxury items
Con: You only get paid for what is purchased. There is usually a specified consignment period for items to sell.
Reselling is when the business or individual buyer pays the seller a fixed cost upfront for the merchandise.
Pro: You get an offer and payment for your items upfront, and you know what is accepted.
Con: The offer is usually much lower than the consignment split, as the retailer is carrying the full burden and risk of selling.
Additional Considerations
Here are a few additional considerations to take in determining if consigning or reselling is right for you:
Make sure your garments are in proper condition. Secondhand stores really mean “gently” used, which includes no stains, tears, or defects in the garment. If you are reselling on a site like Poshmark or eBay, be sure to clearly disclose any defects to avoid any issues.
Many secondhand stores have a list of brands or types of brands they accept as well as the types of garments. There can also be requirements on how old certain pieces are. Check with the individual retailer for their specific guidelines.
If you are selling a lot of luxury items, don’t hesitate to shop around for the best options to get you the best return and chance of the items selling.
If you are consigning, ask how long your items will be available for purchase before they are removed from inventory. Also, ask about their discounting model and what your options are if items don’t sell. Most will give the option to return the items to you or donate them on your behalf.
Consignment & Reselling Resources
We partner with or have worked with a variety of secondhand markets, here are just a few for you to check out:
2nd Street USA: reseller at a variety of price points; various locations in the US
Designer Revival: an NYC and online designer and vintage consignment shop; you can send in your photos ahead for review and estimates
Poshmark: online 1-on-1 reselling community
True Fashionistas: consignment or resale at a variety of price points; we have an exclusive BU Style partnership [contact us to connect directly with the owner]
Have any additional resources you love that we could love too? Email us at contact@bu.style.
If You Want to Spread the Thread Love: Donate or Share
If you don’t want to consign or resell, or your gently used items aren’t selling or are too old to be accepted at a reseller, you could donate or pass them directly along to someone who is ready to love and appreciate them.
Things to Consider
Before you throw everything you’ve culled into big donation bags, take some time to make sure you are being thoughtful and considerate in your donations:
Make sure your items are in good condition and accepted at your donation facility. Again, these should be gently worn items that just aren’t serving you anymore. Use the golden rule of donating: Give unto others as you would have them give to you!
Don’t use a donation as an excuse to pass along your extra work of sorting through your pieces. Many donation facilities report that only about 50% of the clothing donated is useable.
So what happens with the rest? Well, that depends on where you donated. Check with your facility to learn where items go. Landfills? Upcycling programs? (Read more about the donation cycle.)
Make sure the initiatives that a donation facility supports align with your values.
Resources & Ideas
There are a plethora of donation or sharing options. as I mentioned above it’s important to understand the initiatives and values they support. Here are some donating and sharing ideas we love:
Donate Local: Local donation facilities and causes directly supporting grassroots efforts you may be passionate about. So check your local offerings first, such as shelters, rehab centers, prisons, and other local nonprofits that support community rehabilitation and betterment.
Buy Nothing Project: I LOVE my local Upper East Side Buy Nothing group on Facebook. I get to share pieces I have loved with my neighbors and collectively help reduce waste. It’s also a great way to meet neighbors! In addition, often there are requests to directly help community members in need through donations in the group.
Donate to Retailers: Many conscious brands are accepting clothing donations in exchange for a discount or store incentive, like Levi’s, Madewell, and Reformation. Here’s a list of others.
Clothing Swap: Bring your friends together for clothing sharing and caring with a clothing swap. Donate the remaining items to a cause you support
Animal Shelters: Many of your local animal shelters and humane societies are in need of clean bedding and towels.
Tattered and Torn Threads You Need to Shed: Recycle
Now you are left with the un-sellable and un-donatable items, and you want to keep with your quest to care for the environment. Now what? According to the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association, 95% of textiles can be recycled or upcycled. Here are some ways how:
Cut up your old t-shirts into rags, make dog toys from old clothes . . . the internet is chock full of fun ideas for a DIY day with your old clothes.
Check out sites like Earth911 to find local recycling centers.
Another option is companies like For Days, where you can purchase a “take back bag” at a small cost and send in all of your washed textiles in any condition (including undergarments, socks, etc.) for them to be recycled or resold.
At the end of the day, the best way to be kind to the planet is to reduce our consumption as consumers. Let’s buy better, buy less, and keep things longer. However, we’re all human and baby steps are better than no steps. We’re all learning ways to be better, and we’re here to support and explore ways collectively to make conscious choices that are a win for YOU, a win for society, and a win for Planet Earth.
Slide into our DMs or comment on this article with any questions or additional resources we can share with the community!