Dive summary:

• More and more U.S. towns are embracing curbside textile recycling including towns in Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington state.
• Last September, Queen Creek, Ariz., began a curbside pilot project that collected 27,000 pounds of material in four months and brought in nearly $3,000 for both the city and its Boys and Girls Club.
• Clothes that are still in decent condition can be sold for reuse both domestically and overseas; those that are too tattered or stained can be recycled into rags or insolation.

From the article:

"Anything that is clean and dry can be reused or recycled," says Jackie King, executive director of Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association, an industry group. She says nearly half of donated clothes are sold for reuse, mostly overseas where demand and prices have risen.

Goodwill's Michael Meyer says per-pound international prices vary but have risen from a low of about three cents to 20 cents. He says his non-profit, which requests "new and gently used" items to fund job training programs, sells only a small share of donations abroad, because it sells the "vast majority" at its stores, outlets or auctions. ...