In 2015, less than 1% of the material used to make clothing was recycled into new clothing. 73% was landfilled or incinerated, and most of what was recycled became lower-value products like insulation, wiping cloths and mattress stuffing (Ellen MacArthur Foundation). In September 2024, California passed the first statewide law in the US requiring apparel and textile producers to fund the collection, repair, reuse and recycling of what they sell (Sidley).

Worn Out is a secondhand clothing shop that also handles clothes too damaged to sell. The name sums up the idea: clothes get worn, and then they get worn out. Every garment that comes in gets one of four grades, from Worn Lightly to Worn Out. The first three are resold as clothing. Anything graded Worn Out is turned into material instead: cut into fabric panels, shredded into stuffing, or made into cleaning cloths. Each item’s tag shows all four grades with one marked, so shoppers can see what condition it’s in and what happens to clothes that can’t be worn again.