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"In 2015, the last year for which the Environmental Protection Agency has data, the United States generated 11.9 million tons — or about 75 pounds per person — of textile waste, most of which ended up in landfills."

They are counting all textile waste in the country. Not just fashion related, not just clothing, and not restricted to consumer goods.

NYT is using their typical corporatist-absolving-tone which blames consumers for the environmental evils of industry. Textile waste is not something that consumers can make truly significant impact in because the majority of what NYT is blaming on them is outside of their control. The entire premise of this article that reducing textile waste should fall to the responsibility of consumers is unfounded.

Consumer guilt can do a little bit, but they are a relatively small proportion of the problem. Reminds me of 1990s recycling propaganda. Suggesting that poor people buying cheap clothing is the cause is disingenuous at best.

> They are counting all textile waste in the country. Not just fashion related, not just clothing, and not restricted to consumer goods.

I can believe that consumer clothing wouldn't make up a majority, but I really want a breakdown of that textile waste now, instead of the NYT or cwkoss's ready-to-eat opinions.

Edit: here is the EPA's study

The main source of textiles in municipal solid waste (MSW) is discarded clothing, although other smaller sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and other nondurable goods such as sheets and towels.

https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-...

Your source continues...

EPA estimates that the generation of clothing and footwear was 11.9 million tons in 2015 (4.5 percent of total MSW)

If 4.5% in the majority, they have too many categories.

There are two different denominators here.

The first is that clothing is the majority of textile waste.

The second is that textiles are 4.5% of all MSW.

Which means that clothing is >2.25% of all MSW.

>blames consumers for the environmental evils of industry.

Industry exists to sell to consumers. You can't decouple them.

This is a dangerously specious argument. Industry manufactures items for consumers. Textiles, specifically, are rarely intermediate materials in or byproducts of manufacturing. If you believe otherwise, in opposition to the EPA, news media, and common experience, please enlighten us all with actual facts regarding not-consumer textile use and what portion of the waste stream this represents. Otherwise this gives the impression of simply trying to absolve oneself of any sense of personal responsibility and claim that everything is someone else's fault.

Reminds me of Captain Vime’s theory from Pratchett’s Men at Arms:

“But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness”

Running shoes are typically only designed to last for at most 500 miles. It's just hard to make a foam material that can provide cushion but also not break down over time (and still not cost a fortune).

I think the best practice is to only use your running shoes when you run. Wearing them around town as you do errands just adds the amount of time you are compressing the foam in the soles. That said, the old running shoes still work fine for walking around after the 500 mile mark. They just don't provide much cushion to absorb impact.

True, maybe some shoes could be designed with replaceable soles though (so you can preserve the upper). Probably not economical since shoes are so cheap to make anyway and the sole is probably the most costly part.

I've found that about 300-350 miles for actual running works for me (but then I am a bit of a heavier build) - by then the soles and insole are fairly worn. I do not doubt that I probably get a good 100+ miles extra wear where I am not actually running.

300 feels low, but when you get into a new pair of basically the same trainer after running around in a 300-350 mile old pair, the new ones feels amazing in comparison so I feel like there is some accuracy in that.

A neat trick to get a few extra hundered per pair is buy two, and alternate. It appears that giving the cushioning more than 24 hours to decompress increases the lifespan.

Ten years' durability* for non-underwear garments is what I shoot for as well. It's possible to get considerably more than that with a little extra care [for example, line drying rather than putting in the dryer machine]

-- I've pretty much always dressed the same -- it is more difficult to find quality clothes these days, even from mail-order places that used to be reliable in that regard.

What I look for is : - practicality - durable + comfortable fabric - quality fittings e.g., zippers / snaps - solid workmanship - thrifty price for value - where it's a reasonable option, I go for stuff made in the USA

Since certain makes of clothing are already under discussion here, I'll add a few of my go-tos -- n.b. I have zero affiliation with these or any clothing companies:

~ Flannel shirts : Codet / Big Bill

~Rugby shirts and similar : Columbiaknit

~T-shirts, turtlenecks, sweatshirts : Union Shirt Supply

~Jeans : Roundhouse, Texas Jeans

~Khakis : Bill's

~Polyester "dress jeans" [? right] : Wrangler 'wrancher' [made in Mexico, last forever] ~Cycling bibs : TheBlackBibs [great, made overseas]

~Mountain bike shorts : Zoic [reasonably OK, made overseas]

~Dress shirts : WhiteDressShirts [when absolutely necessary]

~Belts : Bison Designs

Socks and underwear - there used to be good options in this category, but getting verrrrrry hard to find, so I've regrettably started treating them as one-or-two-season-then-toss

- When I can find the time [rarely], I also look for stuff at thrift stores, mainly for the environmental benefit [though the low price doesn't hurt!] -- mostly oxford shirts for everyday wear

I have a hard time focusing if I'm not comfortable, so for me, clothing like the above is a worthwhile investment

*I used to get this much wear and more out of shoes [buy quality boots and shoes, get resoled as needed], but since I've moved to sneakers [due to leg and foot injury], generally I only get a season out of sneaks even with a multi-pair rotation.

Nylon socks last practically forever. See US seller We Love Colors Inc. (welovecolors.com)

Thanks for the tip!

You'll find luck with more classic styles. Older generations really appreciated things that lasted a while and were repairable when broken. Rancourt, Quoddy, Redwing Heritage, and many other heritage brands can be found for a decent price and are resoleable when the bottoms wear out.

You'll also have a lot of luck with clothes meant for serious outdoors use. The prices can be seriously inflated but are often found 30-60% off on season end clearance. There are too many brands to list but I'm very happy with my Salomon, La Sportiva, and Inov-8 shoes.

Inov-8 has recently pioneered the use of graphene rubber in the outsoles of their running shoes doubling or even tripling their longevity.

Also keep an eye out for Vibram rubber outsoles. They're an Italian rubber brand known for being more durable. They're a bit more common to find.

I hear you on the sneaker front. I now only buy ones with "gum" and other non-white soles for this reason. They last longer in the sense they don't look like $#it nearly as fast.

I was about to recommend skateboard shoes to the comment above for the same reason.

It has been years since I've skated, but I've always liked the simple style of some skate shoes. After experiencing the same wear-out with running/walking/training shoes I went back to skate shoes. The last pair I bought five years ago and the soles are just now wearing out.

It occurred to me that most are designed to be durable against constant contact with sandpaper. While they aren't _as_ comfortable as running shoes, I found a pair that I really like. Being both simple in look, lightweight, and comfortable.

Yeah, skate and indoor soccer-ish style are my favorite too.

>a lot of the running/training type shoes wear out in 3-4 months, the sole is shot

This isn't about price but weight. Because of new materials tech, we've gotten used to super light shoes (and they definitely help in terms of performance) but the cost of that is durability. Typically in materials science weight and durability have an inverse relationship. There are exceptions, but you're not finding those in department store sneakers.

> The item that drives me nuts with disposability at the moment is sneakers. I walk & work out a lot and I'm finding a lot of the running/training type shoes wear out in 3-4 months, the sole is shot but the uppers are totally fine. I'm trying to find more durable shoes to wear for casual wear & walking that actually last.

I work for a niche company[0] that manufacturers high quality running shoes as well as healthy everyday footwear and depending on the particular model and its sole design we offer a resole service, which many customers take advantage of.

[0] https://www.lunge.com/en/

If your personal style permits, for casual wear and walking (but not working out or running) you could look into a resolable option like a Goodyear welted or Blake stitched shoe or boot. Chukkas generally work well with workplace appropriate attire and most footwear of this type have a sole material that lasts way longer than sneakers. I've never heard of anyone wearing through a Vibram sole in 3 or 4 months. When you've worn through a sole you just get cobbler to stitch on a new one and most can be resoled 3-5 times.

Granted, you're not likely to save much _money_ this way, a cobbler will charge about as much as a new pair of sneakers cost, but you'll throw a lot less stuff away.

>>I walk & work out a lot and I'm finding a lot of the running/training type shoes wear out in 3-4 months.

I was walking to and from work (~7 miles round trip) for a couple years, and made the switch to these hiking boots [1] for the same reason. I also hiked a lot (local 10+ miles hikes, Kilimanjaro, etc.) and these have just gotten more comfortable with time and use.

A small quibble I have is the laces wear out regularly. I have to replace them every ~8 months.

1. https://www.keenfootwear.com/p/M-TARGHEE-III-MID-WP.html

I wouldn't be all that surprised to find out I throw out 75lbs of clothes a year. Just shirts. Everything else lasts a long time, but dammit I have an uncanny ability to get grease spots on the front of my cotton shirts. I finally just started buying them cheap in bulk. I also don't really throw them away directly, I recycle them into rags first, but the end result is the same. I sometimes only get to wear a shirt two or three times before it's ruined.

Maybe I need to wear a full-time bib.

Grease spots from food? I can usually get those out in the wash. I apply detergent directly to the spot and rub it in a bit. Then I let it sit for a while (a few hours, overnight, whatever) before putting it into the wash like normal.

Modern detergents are amazing. I once spilled cooking oil directly onto some cotton shorts and they came out fine.

For a long time, I have taken the approach of getting up from the table and going to the sink and applying soap vigorously to an oil spot as soon as I notice I've gotten it on my clothes. It seems to me that the sooner the soap or detergent manages to get in contact with the oils, the less time they have to set, and the better the chance that a subsequent wash will remove all trace of my overenthusiastic eating.

We used to have them, they were called waistcoats

Modern detergents are amazing but plain old Dawn hand dishwashing detergent is better than any of them for greasy spots. I put some in a travel-size squirt bottle and keep it next to the Shout gel that I use on most other stains. It's a miracle. Shout out to my sister for telling me about it.

Yeah Dawn is pretty amazing at cutting grease. In the laundry I usually use Lestoil, it is also very strong but also it foams less than a dishwashing detergent.

Just have to remember to put it on before washing. Ha!

I have the same problem. I don't care about fashion but I like to look decent. I started shopping in Marshall's recently and it's been amazing. John Varvatos t-shirts for $15, Calvin Klein t-shirts for $8. Sure enough, 2 of my white t-shirts immediately got stained but I didn't care since in the past, I'd have paid $30 for the same t-shirt.

Do you wash them at 60°C? Cotton shirts can take that despite label 30°C wash instructions. Skin grease goes won't go under 60°C (not every wash need to be hot though).

> I walk & work out a lot and I'm finding a lot of the running/training type shoes wear out in 3-4 months,

Not for running, but for almost everything else, Vans and Chucks will last a lot longer. They are great for squatting as well! (100% contact with the ground)

I put a lot of miles on each pair of Vans, they last me ~2 years before the sole gives out, the fabric starts to rip at about the same time.

Anything from Ecco will probably last. I've also never seen any of my Keen stuff fail. Both brands are rather expensive.

+1 for Keen

I'm not sure about Chucks. I originally thought the same but the last pair I had developed holes in the top and the soles wore out in less than a year. I don't think I put a ton of miles on them. I'm guessing they sacrificed quality for profit somewhere along the line.

When I was wearing Chucks I got the leather ones.

Switched to Vans because they are a little bit wider.

Sad if the cheapened out on the soles. I used to wear the leather down before I wore the soles out.

(Obviously garbage leather if it got worn out...)

I like Common Projects sneakers. They're expensive, but the quality is good. I used to go through lots of pairs of Vans or Converse, but I've had a pair of the Achilles Low for a few years and they're still in good shape even with a lot of wear. The soles are durable. They are also very plain/minimal looking so I can wear them for casual walking around or even instead of a dress shoe sometimes.

> I'm trying to find more durable shoes to wear for casual wear & walking that actually last.

I've been pretty happy with my New Balance 990 shoes. Has lasted me years longer than any other shoes I bought. These are made in the US so I don't know if the quality is better than their other models or even other brands. I've never bought expensive shoes until I bought these but now I'm sold.

I don't know about running, but I've been using the same pair of Nike Frees for about 3 years. I do cardio, weight lifting and bodyweight exercises for an hour a day, 5 days a week.

Then again, maybe I'm wearing them longer than I should. I often go years without buying any new clothes and still wear clothes from when I was in college 20 years ago.

That 75lbs number... I'm skeptical.

I don't buy anywhere near that much clothing. Assuming there are perhaps 20% similar people to me who buy very few items of clothing each year and pretty much throw away a handful of pairs of worn-out shoes and torn socks per year, then the rest of the US has to be averaging 91 pounds per year.

That feels very high.

"In 2015, the last year for which the Environmental Protection Agency has data, the United States generated 11.9 million tons — or about 75 pounds per person — of textile waste, most of which ended up in landfills."

That figure is not limited to consumer clothing. This article is NYT recasting the repercussions of bad industrial practices as something that customers should feel guilty about, when they are actually responsible for only a small proportion.

For a walker, Dr. Martens are unbeatable. A pair will last 10 years (and longer) for sure, with a modicum of care.

They used to last years. They are cheap crap now.

I've found that different soles on running shoes wear out way faster than others. The soft, white squishy-style rubber wears out super fast, so I always make sure my running shoes have the harder, black rubber soles instead.

There's a valid reason the lower of the shoes wear out quickly. They are absorbing the impact and vibration that in a firmer more durable shoe is absorbed in the legs.

As an ultra runner I used to buy more durable shoes focused on the idea of I wanted to get more miles per dollar out of them. As I'm aging, I now realize the value in the shoes taking more beating than my legs is worth the extra value in rotating my shoes more frequently.

Growing up in poverty doesn't make this an easy life change for me to adopt, but I consider spending more for something that provides better long term fitness/health a valid reason for increased costs.