Donating clothing and other new or gently-used textile items can be as easy as a walk in the park. The Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Greenmarket offers the option of dropping off items for donation to Wearable Collections, in partnership with recycle@grownyc.org, including: clean clothing; paired shoes; linens; handbags and belts.

Under the banner Clothing Is Not Garbage, donations can be made at the plaza site, on Second Avenue at East 47th Street, on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (The drop-off location is the last vendor location on the left-hand side heading into the park from Second Avenue).

According to the group, clothing and other textiles account for 6% of the city’s residential waste stream, with 200,000 tons of textiles discarded annually. Since the effort began in 2007, the group estimates 6 million pounds have been diverted from landfills. Thirty green markets in four boroughs collect unwanted textiles weekly under the non-profit GrowNYC Zero Waste program funded by the city’s Department of Sanitation.

Materials accepted by Wearable Collections are sorted for distribution to second-hand markets. The group cannot accept pillows, comforters, rugs or luggage.

Donations are tax deductible, with tax receipts available at drop-off.

by Judy Randall