We congratulate the millions of people who recognize Earth Day and thank the legions of people who work in environmental professions. We have made remarkable progress in the 45 years since the first Earth Day in protecting our environment and conserving natural resources.

On a daily and weekly basis, recycling has become an important fabric in our lives. Each of us pauses a moment to determine whether to keep the bottles, cans and papers we just used out of the trash. Recycling results in collectively reducing greenhouse gases, diverting materials from limited landfill space and supporting thousands of jobs statewide.

Textiles (used and even torn clothing, curtains, linens, single socks, etc.) are materials that have largely been overlooked for recycling. While many people recycle some of their old clothing, in New York State, most textiles are trashed. This results in about 1.4 billion pounds of these materials going to landfills or waste-to-energy facilities. That’s approximately 70 pounds for every New York citizen annually. If all the used textiles were recycled instead, sales would generate a market value exceeding $200 million and approximately 9,000 new jobs could be generated across the state to manage this material stream.

In conjunction with Earth Day, communities across the state teamed up to encourage residents to donate and recycle their unwanted clothing and other household textiles. The “Re-Clothe NY” campaign is led by the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3), in conjunction with the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), and the Council for Textile Recycling (CTR). Information about what to donate and where to donate can be found at www.NYtextiles.org

The Re-Clothe NY campaign includes a coalition of non-profit charitable organizations, such as the Rescue Mission, Salvation Army, and Goodwill Industries and others, and for-profit used-clothing companies, to collaborate in helping New York residents to keep textiles out of the trash. Recovering these materials will produce environmental, economic and social benefits across New York State.

In an effort to create action around our Earth Day commemoration, the Re-Clothe NY campaign challenges all New York residents to make a difference by dropping off their unwanted clothing and textiles to reduce waste, create jobs and preserve natural resources.

[James Gilbert is president of the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling.]