The festive season is upon us again, which often sees a hastily ordered Christmas jumper and some new clothing coming in for the hectic schedule of yuletide social events – not to mention a few questionable garments arriving from family members on Christmas Day.

A wardrobe refresh is always fun – but the national fast fashion fad does take its toll on the environment. This is why Ealing residents are being encouraged to make sure they get rid of unwanted clothes and textiles in a sustainable way this Christmas and beyond.

Every year an estimated 300,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK. Disposing of landfill is far worse for the environment and is a huge cost to tax payers – diverting money that could be spent on other important services.

But luckily there are plenty of options for local people to recycle clothes and unwanted garments.

Textiles can be recycled as part of your kerbside collections, on your normal recycling day – just make sure you put them in a clear, secure bag on top of your BLUE bin. Keep the bags dry and alongside each other and tie any pairs of shoes together. Recycling left in black rubbish bags will not be collected.

Alternatively, you can take unwanted garments to a textile collections bin, located in each of the borough’s town centres.  You can find your nearest one online, or additionally you could take your textile recycling to the re-use and recycling centres at Greenford and Acton.

It is not just clothes that can be recycled; shoes, bags, belts, odd socks and lingerie can also be recycled as part of your kerbside collection. Textile banks also take clothing, blankets and linens, old tea towels, odd socks and towels.

This old clothing is taken away and sorted into different grades, according to its condition. It is then either sent to be reused or recycled into different products. Items not suitable for re-use will be recycled into new materials that could be used in the automotive, furniture and housing industries.

There are always a number of charities that would gratefully receive your unwanted clothes and textiles so instead of recycling the clothes, you could give them a new life in a different way.

Many charities distribute items to local people who need them so if your unwanted clothes are in decent condition this could be a really sustainable option.

You can also find handy advice and tips to recycle clothes via the Love Your Clothes website.