Our Commitment to Recycling

Five Star Rags Inc. is dedicated to reducing the overwhelming amount of waste that occurs in the clothing and textile industry. Every year, North Americans send 9.5 million tons of clothing to landfills. 95% of these items could be recycled instead of wasted. The fashion industry produces more harmful carbon emissions than the aviation and shipping industries combined. Canadians send more than 12 million tones of clothing and textiles into the waste system every year (Waste Reduction Week in Canada). Ontario generates 500,000 tonnes of clothing and textile waste every year and that number is expected to grow rapidly if we don’t change our consumption patterns when it comes to clothing.

“Fashion Fades, style is eternal” – Yves Saint Laurent

See what Five Star Rags Inc. is doing to help reduce textile and clothing waste in the clothing industry.

Recycling

Textile waste facts

• Fast Fashion is an industry where clothes get designed and manufactured very quickly and then sold to consumers at very low prices. Fast Fashion is considered to be one of the worst-polluting industries in the world. (Passionate Eye)
• Approximately 7,000 liters of water are needed to produce one pair of jeans (the amount of water one individual drinks in 5-6 years) (Passionate Eye)
• 85% of the plastic pollution in the ocean is due to microfibers from synthetic material used to make fast fashion (Passionate Eye)
• Canadians purchase 400 percent more clothing per year compared to two decades ago. Eventually most of that fast fashion ends up in the trash rather than being recycled. (Passionate Eye)
• Ontario landfills are nearing a critical crisis point. 95% of all textiles are recyclable yet well over 75% still ends up in landfills! (textilewastediversion.com)
• 83% of the world’s drinking water is contaminated with micro fibers from synthetic clothes that are not bio-degradable. (Passionate Eye)
• Products have historically been designed for convenience but with no consideration of the waste left behind. The solution is in the circular economy where we design products so resources can be reused and reinvented in new products again and again. (Recycling Council of Ontario)
• If we continue to use as much clothing as we do now, fashion waste will continue to erode our environment and what we leave behind for our kids, grandkids and future generations.
How we reduce textile waste worldwide

• Five Star Rags wants to be part of the circular economy and keep as many items out of landfills as much as possible to minimize our carbon imprint on the environment for our future generations to come. As a result we collect, sort and grade tons of pounds of used clothing and accessories and in turn we re-sell to our customers, both here in North America and in other parts of the world. This in turn helps divert tons of used clothes and textiles from contaminating our landfills and into the hands of those who can re-use these items.
• We strive to bale our clothing to almost 100% of container utilization and for any destroyed items we do our best to ensure these items are recycled in one form of another so they can be re-furbished for other uses as opposed to ending up in a landfill.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of quality grades do you have for your clothing, accessories, toys, shoes and handbags?: We strive to offer the best quality clothes on the second hand wholesale market. We offer Grade A category of clothes for the majority of our sales.
We also have a second category of clothing/mixed rags. These clothes may have visible wear or little fading from washing.
What kinds of items do you sell?: We sell used clothing, shoes, various accessories, and certain household items. Browse our product catalog found on our website for product info.
Some items might be out of stock at the moment so we advise to call or e-mail us for availability.
Do you sell in bulk?: Yes, the majority of our orders are sold in 20 and 40 feet containers of clothing. Please contact our management team as we can try to accommodate your buyer needs
Where do you ship to?: We ship to many different countries across the globe, including Africa, India, Pakistan, Central and South America. Please give us a call and we will try to accommodate for you.
What are your prices?: We have a wide range of prices that are updated frequently. For the most updated prices you can contact our management team to discuss further.
Can you take care of shipping and inland transportation?: Generally we take care of shipping and inland transportation depending on where we are shipping to. Please contact our management team to discuss further.
How much does a container cost?: The price will vary largely depending on the type of clothing you order as well as the quantity. Feel free to contact our team to get more information.
How long will it take to receive my container?: The amount of time it takes to prepare a container really depends on the nature of the order as well as the quantity and where it is being shipped to. When we receive your order we can then provide you a better timeline. Please contact our management team to get more information.
What will I find in one bale of used clothing?: In general each bale can contain a mix of brands, sizes and colors but it all depends on the customer orders. Please contact us to get more information.
How many bales can you load in one container?: Physically a container could hold up to 25,000 lbs. (11,340 kg) in a 20 ft. container or up to 57,000 lbs. (25,855 kg) in 40 ft container.
o 20 ft. container can hold up to 250 bales of 100 lbs.
o 40 ft. container can hold up to 570 bales of 100 lbs.
Do you do exporter inspections?: Generally yes we can arrange them depending on where the orders are being shipped and the particulars of the order. Please contact our management team to discuss further as we will try to accommodate your needs as best as we can.

Our Commitment to Recycling

Recycling

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Frequently Asked Questions