About those clothes hangers: Goodwill wants them!

My recent query to our regional Goodwill (Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio) about whether they want discarded/surplus clothes hangers brought this response from Maureen Ater, their Vice President of Marketing & Fund Development:

“Good morning, Lenore! YES, we absolutely would accept hangers and are in need of hangers many times at our different locations. Thank you for thinking of Goodwill and thank you for your continued support!”

Thank you, Maureen!

So you can stop wondering how to get rid of all those clothes hangers (wire, plastic, combination, wood, whatever): take them to Goodwill, and Keep Them Out of the Landfill!

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Recycle Garment Hangers at Target Stores

Garment hangers are not the recycling no-no that I thought they are. Your local Target store will take them and reuse them. And when the hangers break, Target will recycle the plastic and metal parts to make plastic flowerpots and other gardening supplies. (Read Target’s full statement here.)

TargetRecyclingStation

Look for the recycling station at your local Target store.

So when you clean out your closet, whether to donate, recycle, or (I hope not) discard the clothing you no longer want or need, don’t throw away the hangers. If they’re plain wire hangers, take them to a dry cleaner who will recycle (or reuse) them. If they’re hangers you got from Target, take them back to Target.

Even better, when you purchase clothes from Target, leave the hangers at the register. Target wants to keep them.

Congratulations, Target, on keeping garment hangers out of the landfill. That’s not only a sustainable business practice — it’s also a nice way to get customers into your stores.

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