Americans buy a lot of clothes. The non-profit Public Interest Research Group estimates that the average consumer bought 53 items of clothing last year, which is four times as much as 25 years ago.
A lot of that clothing ends up in the trash - it’s estimated that more than half of clothes get thrown out within a year after being purchased.
And in the US, upwards of 17 million tons of textiles get trashed annually.
A lot of those clothes could have a new life… and that’s what the Public Benefit Corporation Helpsy is working to facilitate. We talk with Helpsy chief of staff, Lisa Scianella, to learn more.