I have a question and a comment. What should you do with clothes that are worn out? I usually start out with new clothes which I wear when working (teaching school). My clothes then "graduate" to work clothes. I do a lot of carpentry and forestry work. When I am no longer able to wear these work clothes, I then use them for rags. However, I now have a box full and rags. My mother used to send our old clothes off to the rug lady and she would make throw rugs out of them. It was always fun to see a favorite shirt in the rug! I know there are no more rug ladies around so what to do?
The comment I would like to make concerns used clothes. For five years I lived and worked in Africa. Ever wonder why all the pictures you see of African children show them wearing American t shirts and baseball caps? It's because they are. All of the clothes donated to charities in America (St. Vincent, Salvation Army etc) are sorted by the charities. those clothes which are in good condition and still in style are sold. The remaining clothes which are not sold are baled and sold to exporter who sells them by the bale in African countries. African merchants buy these bales and then sell these clothes. When you look at the situation it sounds like an ok deal. However, this kind of trade is very detrimental to Africans. Textile manufacturing is classically one of the first industries an industrializing country will undertake. However, when a country is flooded with cheap ready made clothing, it is not able to build industy. My point is to never donate second rate clothes to charities. Lastly, I have a favorite story about the "rag trade". When I was living in Ethiopia. We experienced a revolution about two years after the wall fell in Berlin. Each and every group in Ethiopia had been surpressed under the communists. After the revolution there was a real tribal feeling amonst the peoples of Ethiopia. One day these Ormo men were marching to show their pride. The men were on horse with monkey skin wigs and dressed very fiercely complete with swords spears and guns. There was this one guy who was far and away the fierest one of all. He was wearing a white woman's bath robe complete with chiffon lace. Scared the hell out of me!