re-fashioNYC, a NYCRecycles project backed by the City of New York and Housing Works, aims to make a dent in the 200,000 tons of textiles disposed of in the city each year. As citizens and consumers, the disposal of clothing – or any product – is typically a matter of convenience.

We were impressed to see how the initiative has unfolded, and the responses from both residents and city officials. By positioning re-fashioNYC donation bins outside of participating apartment buildings, and offering the service free of charge, the state of New York is ensuring that donating old pieces for reuse becomes the simplest option.

As expressed on Sustainablog recently, “everyone wins when we recycle textiles.” However, the rate of adoption leaves room for improvement. In our experience, a plan to get the masses on board with the process of eradicating landfill waste must include ease, cost-efficiency and numerous financial, reputational and environmental benefits – all of which re-fashioNYC fulfills.

At The Refinishing Touch, we work with clients to offer furniture reupholstery services with a similar mission to reduce textile waste through recycled leather and other environmentally friendly fabrics, and so it’s encouraging to see New York setting the stage for landfill reduction. We hope more cities, states and federal agencies soon roll out similar projects across the U.S. To learn more about this project – and how one New York resident’s trash becomes someone else’s treasure – follow this link.

Have you donated to re-fashioNYC? Do you wish this imitative would make its way to your city? Let us know on Twitter at @RefinishTouch.