Paper short abstract:

Why do many people find it hard to throw away their used textiles and what do they actually do with their worn clothes or home textiles? The paper deals with morally and ethically aspects connected to recycling processes when it comes to textiles.

Paper long abstract:

Why do many people find it hard to throw away their used textiles and what do they actually do with their worn clothes or home textiles? This is the main question in a research project titled "Reusing Textiles: on Material and Cultural Wear and Tear". Within the project a fieldwork covering a local flea market has been done. More than 70 informants has been asked to write and describe how they handle their used textiles focusing on how they reuse them, save them, give them away or use them to create new textiles. The results points to a desire to preserve the textiles and finding ways to make them useful in every day life or in the local or global community. Many of the elderly informants who experienced World War II talks about textiles in terms of quality referring to material and execution that makes it possible to repair patch or reuse. The younger informants on the other hand talk about textiles in terms of consuming them.

In this contribution morally and ethically aspects of sorting out worn clothes and home textiles are discussed. How people connect to textiles as a material category and how this affects the recycling process is another question asked.