May 17, 20223 min read

Free Clothing

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, and of the total fiber input used for clothing, 87% is incinerated or disposed of in a landfill (The World Bank).

According to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the average person today buys 60% more clothing than in 2000. And not only do they buy more, they also discard more as a result.

Suffice to say, our community has more than enough clothing to go around. If you are in need of clothes, check out the resources below and the Clothing Swap resource post. If you are one of our community members who is finding yourself with more clothes than you need, please donate your clothes to one of the organizations below or a Local Thrift Store, give them away to friends or family, or host/attend a clothing swap.

Photo Credit: Stacy Axelrod (via Bottomless Closet)

NeedHelpPayingBills.com is a national resource you can use for a variety of things (I'm talking rent assistance, utility bill help, free stuff and money, and way more), but here is the link to their list of free clothing closets, furniture and school supplies New York City.

NYC.gov has a program called NeON (Neighborhood Opportunity Network) made for members of our community on probation. One of their programs made for *anyone* (you do not have to be on probation) is their Clothing Closets program for gently used business attire, casual clothes, shoes and accessories. They operate one NeON Clothing Closets in each of the five boroughs, open Monday through Friday, 9AM to 5PM.

Anyone can make a donation of gently used clothing by contacting the closet listed in your borough.

Reaching Out Community Services has a location at 7708 New Utercht Ave in Brooklyn that provides gently used clothing and appliances for families in need. The funding for their many programs (not just clothing assistance) is provided in part by the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development and the NYC Department for the Aging.

Bottomless Closet is on a mission to empower NYC women by pairing them with a volunteer who helps clients pick out free professional clothing (INCLUDING plus-size), gives resume advice along with freshly printed copies and a copy on a flash drive for them to take home, AND interview prep. They also do workshops open to the public! Click here to learn more about referring yourself as a client!

Client criteria:

- Live in the 5 boroughs of New York City;

- Be in economic need;

- Be actively job searching; and

- Need interview clothing, an updated resume, and/or interview preparation.

You can support them by giving clothes, donating, or volunteering.

GoGetta is a service that "has New York’s most up-to-date service information on food, personal care, shelter, and clothing," and helps you find providers for exactly what you need. You can use your location and this interactive map to find services near you!

Facebook (although boo @ the company) is a source of free clothing! I would suggest posting in one of the 'free' groups if you are looking for something specific, as community members may step up to help you out!

Here is my list of some so far

- "Free Stuff in NYC"(130K+ members, more broad, but plenty of available clothing and other items of you monitor the group actively - things go quick!)

- "NYC For Free" (another broad 'free' stuff group, less members but still requires active monitoring)

- "Free Your Stuff NYC" (28K+ members)

- "NYC For Free" (15K+ members)

- "Manhattan NYC Free Cycle" (4.4K+ members)

- "Free Stuff Brooklyn, Ny" (broad, but only 2.5k members)

- "Free Your Stuff NYC: Queens & Brooklyn" (2.2K+ members)

- "Trade FREE Stuff NYC" (2.1K+ members, some rule breakers)

- "NYC Swap & Shop / free donations" (1.9K+ members)

- "NYC Free For All!" (1.6K+ members)

- "Free Stuff UWS NYC" (400+ members)

- "NYC Clothing Swap Meets" (a new group made to coordinate days/places/plan for meets for clothing swaps)

- "NYC Clothes Exchange" (clothing swapping online)