So You've Cleared Out Your Wardrobe—This Is How to Send It to a Better Home

January is a time when many of us reflect a little and try to change a thing or two—whether that's by having fewer 3 p.m. chocolate biscuits or doing a thorough wardrobe clearout. If you're wanting to do some good with those pieces that are currently sitting unloved at the back of your closet, instead of trying to just sell them on eBay or an equivalent, there are a number of projects that ensure your clothes go somewhere they are actually needed. Keep scrolling to see three key (and easy) ways that you can recycle or send your clothes to a better home. 

1. How to Guarantee Your Shoes Are Being Recyled

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(Image credit: @VagabondShoeMakers)

Shoe brand Vagabond has teamed up with iCollect to create a clever new shoe recycling project. You bring your old shoes into an in-store recycling bin (there is one in the Richmond store) and then they either recycle shoes that are past repair, or give ones that are still wearable to charity. “A big problem with shoe consumption is that a great deal of the shoes that are being thrown away still have a lot to give," says the brand. "The most important mission for the Shoe Bring Back project is to make sure that shoes that are still in a wearable condition are being collected to get a new life as second-hand goods, or be recycled into new products.”

Related: Summer 2018 Fashion Trends: The Only Looks You Need to Know

2. The Charities That Will Come to Your Door to Collect Pieces

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(Image credit: @Erica_Davies)

Many people don't know that there are a number of charities that will pick up your donations from your house—meaning you don't have to work out how to get to your nearest shop with four bin bags. iCollect Clothes, for example, works with a number of charities on a home collection service, while Traid and Blue Cross also do their own easy pick-up services. 

3. How to Donate Designer Clothing

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(Image credit: Freddie Harrel)

If you have designer clothes you wish to donate but think they might not make as much as they should in a charity shop, then visit Fashion for Change, which is an online store that sells designer and quality pieces for charity. Kate Winslet is currently selling an old evening gown on here, so you know it's a site you can trust. 

Emma Spedding