CLOTHING FOR KIDS LOCALLY
HEALING FOR EARTH GLOBALLY
When you donate to Cradles to Crayons, you support our mission to End Clothing Insecurity—and help build a better world. C2C gives your well-loved items a second life, helping kids thrive with the quality clothing they need and deserve. Our Spring Greening initiative highlights C2C’s commitment to serving people and the planet.
The average American throws out 100 pounds of textile waste per year—when most of those items could go back into use. This Spring, clean out your closets and donate your gently used clothing to Cradles to Crayons ensuring your donation goes directly to kids in the Chicagoland community and supporting sustainability at the same time. See below for ways that you can make a difference this Spring.
Donate Product
Amazon Wish List
Send product directly to The Giving Factory by ordering from our Amazon Wish List full of our most-needed items.
Drop-off Locations
Drop off your new or gently used clothing to be processed at The Giving Factory and returned to the community.
Host a Collection Drive
Promote C2C’s sustainable model & host a collection drive! Get in the spring cleaning spirit by encouraging friends to donate any clothing they have outgrown or no longer need.
Donate Your Time/Support Financially
Volunteer
Volunteer at The Giving Factory, where both adults and children make a direct impact by assisting in our warehouse.
Contributions
Join us as we divert more than half a million pounds of clothing from landfills every year, decreasing the overall carbon footprint for these critical clothing resources.
Corporate Volunteering
Take a break from those rainy days in the office and plan a volunteer event with C2C.
Textile Recycling Facts
50-80% of U.S. textile waste ends up overseas—that can include new or gently used items. Cradles to Crayons keeps your donation in use in our communities, becoming an essential piece of another child’s daily wardrobe.
The average number of wears for an article of clothing has declined 36% in the last 15 years, a decline with a direct, negative impact on the environment. The reasons? Poorer clothing quality, changes in consumer spending priorities, and increased consumption in consumer habits.
Reusing textiles reduces their environmental impact by 70 times, and 3 kg of CO2 are saved for each piece of high and medium-quality clothing that is reused; quadrupling the lifespan of some clothing can reduce its freshwater use by 75%.
According to the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association, 95% of textiles waste can be recycled, but most of it ends up in landfills that produce toxic greenhouse gases.