BBe it the drawer where you keep old tote bags or a forgotten basket of stained t-shirts, piles of fabrics you don’t know what to do with are an almost inevitable part of modern life.
While an industry body is working on an Australian textile recycling program, it will be several years before it happens. In the meantime, textiles that are not suitable for charitable donations remain a forgotten waste stream, so it’s tempting to look for alternative solutions. Imagine how satisfying it would be to treat old underwear like food waste and turn it into fertilizer via your home compost.
Technically, fabrics made from 100% cotton, linen and wool—that is, those that aren’t mixed with synthetic materials (e.g. spandex, nylon or polyester)—are organic and should biodegrade in your home compost. But because our clothes are made from a variety of components that aren’t always listed on the label, there are a few things to consider before you throw your holey socks on the compost pile.
First, are there other uses for the item?
Before throwing a textile product in the compost, consider what else it could be used for, says Courtney Holm, founder of Circular Sourcing. Has it really reached the end of its life, or could it be repaired and donated or put to another use?
She says, “Would you like to use it to wipe down benches first or for something else?”
The basics of composting
In general, composting breaks down organic material into a nutrient-rich substance. But not all organic material can be composted safely.
The things that can go into your home compost bin fall into two broad categories: green and brown materials. Green materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, used tea and coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, garden waste and weeds. Brown materials include paper, cardboard, dry leaves and sticks. Used textiles made from natural fibres are considered brown material – with a few restrictions.
If you are just starting out with composting in general, it is worth reading a more detailed guide on what can and cannot be composted.
Look for hidden synthetics
The first and biggest problem with composting old clothes at home is that it’s almost impossible to know exactly what materials a garment is made of. Clothes can contain plastics and chemicals that aren’t listed on the care label, which indicates fabric composition but doesn’t take into account things like the thread used to sew a garment or the nature of zippers, buttons and elastic, which are almost always made of plastic.
Although elastic bands, zippers and buttons can be removed before putting a garment in the compost, the bigger compromise is that the fabric may have been treated with chemical finishes and dyes that can be harmful in the compost.
“While it seems intuitive that all natural fibers can be easily composted, wool can be chemically treated, making it more durable, smoother and more shrink-resistant,” says Stephanie Devine, founder and CEO of The Very Good Bra.
“Unfortunately, many cotton shirts and t-shirts are treated with formaldehyde and other chemicals to minimize wrinkling. Brands are not required to list the chemicals used on their labels, so it’s hard to know if a garment is safe to compost at home.”
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Can any items of clothing be composted safely?
Holm says that garments made from certified organic cotton or linen that are untreated, unbleached and undyed and then sewn with organic yarns are the only textiles that can safely go into the compost bin. To make sure this is the case, she says, “you may have had to make the garment yourself.” You can also look for certifications like the Global Organic Textile Standard, but even that is no guarantee.
With the help of an Australian standard for compostable textiles, which Devine has been working on for several years (and which is the first of its kind in the world), it will be easier to determine which garments can and cannot be composted.
Until the approved test protocol for textile composting is available and recognized by peers and the garments are certified to the new standard, there is no guarantee, she says.
How to compost organic textiles
Even if you’re sure an item is free of plastic and chemicals, it’s still best to cut up a piece of clothing before composting. Holm says this is so “the compost doesn’t have to contend with the huge mass.” Generally speaking, the smaller the pieces, the faster the fabric will decompose.
If you are concerned about the threads used to sew a garment, you can also cut the seams and dispose of them separately.
If you want to compost a pair of shorts or a shirt, you must also remove any metal parts such as zippers, buttons or hooks and eyes. It is also important to cut out all labels, elastic bands, ties and fixings.
If you assume your clothes can be composted, a worm farm may be the safest place to dispose of them, as the worms act like a filter system, separating organic matter (which they eat) from plastics or items coated with chemicals.
Devine says worms have high standards, “and whatever they don’t eat shouldn’t go on your compost.”
Although it may sound like a fun experiment to see if worms will eat the cotton in your underwear but not the spandex, you should still follow the rules of composting: organic matter only.
