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Reusing old sweaters—and crafting them into whatever recycled object your heart desires—is an eco-friendly way to reclaim fibers such as wool, cashmere, and cotton. Reusing sweaters gives them a second life instead of trashing them, which adds to growing levels of landfill waste. By reusing an old sweater you also avoid the energy use, raw materials, and transport involved with a buying a brand new garment.

How to reuse old sweaters

There are tons of ways to reuse an old sweater, whether it's worn through in spots of still got a bit of wear. This collection of ideas should get your creativity bubbling.

DIYers inspiration

All you need is needle, thread, and the Web (and a bit of imagination) to get started on transforming that old wool sweater into the tote bag or wine cozy of your dreams. The Internet is a stellar resource for DIYers who would rather craft a cat bed, for example, from recycled materials than buy a new one. The websites stitch marker, ThreadBanger, Craftster, and stitch lounge, are four notable sources for eco-inspiration.

Those with green thumbs can tear any leftover wool or cotton scraps from "Project Old Sweater" into strips and add 'em to your compost pile. The same goes for old t-shirts, bedding, and any other unwanted textiles.

Want to sell your handiwork? Try peddling the doggy sweater you lovingly crafted from last season's too-big turtleneck on a site like Etsy, a virtual marketplace for everything and anything handmade.

Let someone else do the reusing

Let's face it, for many, the very sight of a sewing needle can bring about as much dread and apprehension as a needle in the office of your local MD. Non-crafty types have an easy out thanks to the recycled fashion wizards at design firms like Mod to Modern and `e ko logic that craft style-forward garments from the remnants of last season's wardrobe.

Alternatively, check out a local Swap-O-Rama-Rama event. These are clothing swaps/sewing workshops where participants contribute and then exchange used or unworn and unwanted clothing items before embroidering/altering/customizing/repairing their new finds at on-site sewing stations. You never know… your holey hoodie might be someone else's mending holy grail.

Still stumped? If handiwork isn't your proverbial cup of green tea, take that old cardigan to a charitable organization where it will be resold, recycled, or donated to someone less fortunate.

Find it! Clothing and home-goods made from recycled sweaters

Get some great ideas for how to reuse your old sweaters, or buy something that someone else has transformed with these fabulous finds.

Reusing old sweaters helps you go green because…

• It's a creative, crafty way for sewing and fashion enthusiasts—both newbies and seasoned experts—to recycle materials that might otherwise find their final resting place in a local landfill.
• The creation of a sweater involves plant- and animal-derived materials like cotton or wool that pose environmental risks through their harvesting and manufacture. Great amounts of energy, land, toxic chemicals, and water are just some of the natural and unnatural resources saved when opting to reuse an old sweater.

An estimated 10.6 million tons of textiles were generated in 2003, with the average American discarding about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per year—85 percent of which ends up in landfills.[1] Sweaters are typically made from sheep’s wool and/or cotton, although other fibers, both natural and synthetic, can be used. While only 2.4 percent of farmland worldwide is dedicated to cotton, it accounts for 24 percent of global insecticide sales and 11 percent of global pesticide sales.[2] In total, $2 billion worth of chemicals are sprayed on global cotton crops each year, almost half of which are classified as hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO).[3]

Although the wool used to make sweaters is a completely renewable resource, "grown" in all 50 states, it also poses environmental risks.[4] In 2000, sheep used in wool production were treated with over 14,000 pounds of pesticides to ward off lice, flies, mange, and other pests. The three leading insecticides used on sheep in 2005—fenvalerate, malathion, and permethrin—pose various environmental dangers, including high toxicity to fish and amphibians and groundwater contamination. Chemical antibiotic feed additives used to boost growth rates in sheep are believed to contaminate surface and groundwater, and in some cases, drinking water supplies in rural areas. This is a result of antibiotics in sheep feces.[5]

External links

• TreeHugger - DIY: old sweaters + scissors = new outfit
• How Can I Recycle This? - How can I reuse or recycle…old jumpers?
• fiftyrx3
• Project refashion
• Recycled Yarn Journal: An online community for those who thrill in finding old sweaters and unraveling the yarn for various purposes.