We don’t know about you, but to all of us at SMART, the summer sure flew by! With that comes the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year; by now it’s no surprise that education may look a little different in your community. Due to COVID-19, many of us are experiencing a lot of ‘firsts’ – including the added responsibility (or pleasure, depending how you look at it) of educating our youngsters at home through e-learning.
While you can depend on your child’s instructors to provide quality education virtually on topics like science, math, reading, and social studies; SMART has an exciting topic for YOU, as a parent, to introduce into the mix. Can you guess where we’re going? That’s right, textile (any fabric made of interlacing fibers including like t-shirts, jeans, flannels, blankets, pillowcases, curtains, bedsheets, and more) recycling!
Your child likely already knows about recycling aluminum, paper, glass, and plastic to help make a difference for our planet, but are they aware of the impact of textile recycling? It is becoming increasingly important for them to learn about textile recycling. The average American today throws away upwards of 81 pounds of unwanted textiles in a year. Meanwhile, 95% of these items that make their way to our nation’s landfills COULD have been recycled.
So, why is this important? By recycling old clothes, shoes, towels, stuffed animals and more – as long as they are clean, dry and odor-free – we save our planet from tons of harsh chemicals, waste products and wastewater created in the production of new textiles. It also significantly reduces the emission of greenhouse gasses!
We know times are tough right now as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, and understand you’ve got a lot on your plate right now. That’s why we’ve done all the heavy lifting required for you to educate your family on the importance of textile recycling. We have lesson plans and worksheets ready to go – and for all age levels!
We encourage you to check them out here: https://www.smartasn.org/resources/for-schools/. In just 30 minutes a week, you can help educate our future leaders and help ensure a healthier planet.
If you use our resources, we want to know! Simply post to social media and tag SMART on Facebook or Twitter. We’ll happily share your photo with our followers to help encourage other families to get involved.
