Columns A sticky note for yourself: don’t buy clothes in vain when, however, you can’t recycle

In autumn I wanted to reduce my current range of clothing and cargo. When I was younger, I bought clothes more carelessly, and at the bottom of my closet lay clothes that had little use.

The problem: how can I get rid of the garment most ethically?

I’ve been one of those who takes their clothes to charity, and there’s a UFF collection box in front of my home. However, I came up with other thoughts when I read reports of UFF clothing ending up in incinerators in developing countries.

I wanted to try something more responsible.

Previously i donated clothes to charities because i found it easy. I wouldn’t actually get rich selling my used clothes, and the effort required by the physical flea markets or Facebook’s constant private message drum didn’t inspire me.

Would there be an alternative to UFF? I Google various charities. Most of them, for example, received the goods in the middle of the working day, in the odd weeks between ten and two o’clock – that is, in quite impossible times.

I decided to try digital trading platforms.

I had sold home furniture on Facebook. They briskly traded, even on the same day. I thought maybe applications for clothing – like Tise or Zada ​​- could have a new future in recycled fashion.

Selector In my experiment, well-maintained and seasonal clothes from both fast-fashion and designer clothing chains. I dedicated time to my project on a few Sunday mornings when the sun was shining and the shooting light was good: I hung clothes on my living room lamp, took pictures, wrote sales texts, and hoped for mercy from the app’s algorithm. My balcony became a warehouse where I sorted and packed stuff.

Inquiries came in moderation, and for the most part, trading went effortlessly if trade took place. That was the biggest problem with these platforms. How do you know what is selling? Anything Marimekko trades, but other clothes are at the mercy of the algorithm.

Environmental from the point of view, donating clothes to charity is complicated. What guarantees do I have that the products will go to those who need them? The best way to make sure the products are actually circulating is to sell them directly to a new user.

However, it is much easier to just close the clothes bags and throw them in the collection boxes than to sell them yourself. As autumn progressed, I lived over and over again every week with the same pain of materialism as I watched the pile of clothes on sale on the balcony. The deal was slow.

Now, ice cream has formed on my balcony coils and it’s time to hand it over. I pack the unsold clothes and give them to charity. A sticky note for yourself: don’t buy because you still can’t recycle responsibly.

The author is the change director of Helsingin Sanomat.