Ideal Bite

About today's emailed tip: bear in mind that the donation of used clothing to 'charities' wherein they're sent to developing countries often has the effect of destroying clothing production businesses in those countries, and enriching nobody but, occasionally, a few merchants. I'm not accusing P.U. of being concerned with such profits, but I am saying that if you're trying to make up your mind about what's the best sort of thing to contribute to make life better for people in developing countries, your old underwear shouldn't be topping the list. There are much, much more urgent things required, like mosquito nets or good old fashioned money for medical and educational projects.

Further reduce your impact when buying undies by choosing handmades made out of recycled t-shirts such as the many types that can be found on Etsy.com. They are cute, sassy, support small business and use recycled material.

I just wanted to comment on Jessica's comment. =) You bring up a very valid point, it pays to be choosy about what and to whom you donate. That said, I was really inspired by Nicole Anderson. It's a great way to recycle something that's hard to recycle! A lot of westerners might be put off by used underwear, but in the developing world it can be a different story. If you're getting rid of it anyway, I think it's a great idea, especially for children's underwear.

Thanks for the image of Christian Bale in his skivvies *drool*

Back to the Future Until about 1860 stationery was made from old, clean rags - cotton and linen (even today fine stationery lists its "rag content"). A shortage of rags during the Civil War led paper mills to use wood pulp. I save all my husband's old cotton undershirts and am learning how to make paper from them - check out textile classes at your local community college. While these are just making lovely gifts, perhaps we can inspire a new "green" industry again.

I've been contemplating using the larger back end of some undies I've had for forever as quilt squares or applique fabric. (Some of the prints are pretty cute!) If the material is natural, with spring coming up, you could cut the leftover material into strips and leave them on tree branches for birds to make nests with, too -- just be sure to wash them with detergent that is fragrance- and additive-free, and dry them without dryer sheets (or better yet, air dry 'em).

Forgive me if this is too obvious, but for the ladies reading this, you can always just save those old, ragged undies for that special time of the month - so you don't risk ruining newer, nicer pairs. Donating underwear is a tough thing in general. When I was in college I did a clothing drive and thankfully had the foresight to sort through all of the donations. One bag was full of panties with HORRID stains on them. I have no idea who dropped this bag off, but I was shocked that she donated them (I would have been embarrassed if I were seen dropping off that bag). I ended up throwing them away because I didn't want to insult the folks at the homeless shelter where we were dropping them off.

Just the other day I sent feedback to The Ideal Bite wanting to see less costly products and today I was rewarded with the stay-at-home business option for a lucreative (no, that's not bad spelling) use of old panties and socks. Thank You, Chris. I have lost twentyfive pounds of cynicism just by signing up for this risk free offer. Today I am just a humble bus driver (oops, didn't mean to let that slip) but one month from now I may be an eco friendly sock and pantie QUEEN! Check this out, biters!

I save my older pairs for working out. After they get too worn for that, they're rags, and after that, they might be compost or fireplace kindling (I only buy cotton anyway, and the ash makes for good garden mulch.

In sort-of response to Heather, and sort-of to Jess: one super-easy way to recycle old underwear is to rip off a page from Luna Panties (am I allowed to talk about ripping off trademarked products on this blog?). It takes about 10 minutes to sew a PUL layer over the gusset of some old panties, cover it with cotton flannelette on each side, make a little pouch or sew in some elastic on the 'money' side for extra towels, and hey presto, you've saved the environment from non-biodegradable biohazards and saved yourself a ridiculous $22/pair. I agree that kid's undies might be harder, though all the other suggestions in the email, and above in the comments, make sense. It's just clothing production is a practical pursuit for small entrepreneurs in developing countries that you can help finance through Kiva-ish micro-credit schemes, and charitable donations of things like panties, that do often end up actually being sold, can get in the way of developing these cottage industries, that do the local area so much more good.