where does it go?

Household clothing in the UK is disposed of in many different ways - it can be given to a charity shop, put into a clothing bank, donated as part of a door-to-door collection or sold under a scheme like the rag 'n' phone man. Regardless of which route is chosen, it is then sold to importers and wholesalers in many countries of Eastern and Western Europe, Africa and Asia. 80% of unwanted clothes goes for reuse i.e. second hand clothes in the markets and shop systems. They are sorted by type and quality and not only does this provide good quality affordable clothes for people in developing countries, it also provides employment in the sorting companies and associated trades.

The remaining 20% enters the recycling market and it is a fact that textile recycling is one of the oldest forms of recycling: the practice of recovering waste textiles is probably as old as the art of spinning and weaving. These days, recycled textiles can be found in wiper cloths, acoustic and thermal insulation, furniture padding, roofing felts, mattresses, blankets, horticultural products, carpet underlay and when mixed with horse manure it's ideal for encouraging the growth of rhubarb - Google ‘The Rhubarb triangle’ and ‘sheep wool’s compost’ to find out more!

Getting rid of old phones isn’t just about de-cluttering. There are potentially noxious substances in decaying phones – cadmium batteries can infect water systems and lead, brominated flame retardants and beryllium can harm the environment if incorrectly disposed of. When you sell your old mobile to us, we'll test it and if it is decent it will be shipped abroad and sold in the Middle and Far East, Africa and South America. If you sell an old mobile of a lower class it’ll be broken down and sold as component parts and anything that cannot be used will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.