• Clothing and outwear like shirts, dresses, pants, underwear, sweaters, coats jackets
• Shoes and footwear like sandals, sneakers, runners, dress shoes, heels
• Purses, backpacks, wallets, and reusable shopping bags 
• Household linens like bedding, towels, curtains, pillows, tea towels, duvets and blankets
• ​​Burlap bags (coffee or rice)
• Accessories like hats, mittens, belts, bras, hosiery, cloth face masks and scarves
• Rags and scrap fabric 
• Cleaning cloths like Swedish dishcloths, microfiber and cotton dishcloths (make sure cleaning fabrics are laundered first)
• Sleeping bags and tents (no poles)
• Suitcases and duffel bags (only carry-on sizes allowed in order to fit the textile bin at City Eco Centres. Take larger suitcases to a thrift store or donation centre)

There are two ways to dispose of clothing, textiles and shows depending on whether they are usable or unusable.

Reuse clothing, textiles and shoes by:

• Giving to family and friends
• Posting on online websites like Facebook Marketplace

Donate usable clothing, textiles and shoes to local charities. Contact your preferred charity to confirm what type of donations they are accepting. Options include:

• Use the Textile Donation locator to find hundreds of drop-off sites or donation bin locations in Calgary.
• Diabetes Canada
• Cerebral Palsy
• Goodwill Alberta
• Kidney Clothes
• Calgary Drop In Centre
• Women in Need Society
• Good Neighbour
• Some retailers like H&M, Uniqlo, and ZARA may take back their own clothes for recycling. Contact the store directly for more details. 

Take old clothing and textiles to a City Eco Centre for free textile recycling – if you bring other garbage, charges will apply.

• The textile recycling program takes damaged fabrics, natural fabrics and synthetic fabrics.
• Place items inside a bag before dropping off at the City Eco Centre. This helps keeps the clothing dry and makes it easier to collect.
• Even if the material is ripped or damaged, make sure that all clothing and fabrics are clean before bringing in for recycling.

Clothing and textiles are donated, reused, repaired, repurposed, or recycled depending on their condition. All dropped-off clothing and textiles are organized by Goodwill Alberta.

Reusable clothing is sorted and sold in the local second-hand store market in in Calgary. Clothing that isn't sold in the Calgary Goodwill stores is then offered to the public in the Goodwill Calgary Outlet Store, where all textiles are sold by weight at affordable rates.

Unsold materials are then further utilized by Goodwill@Work, a team based at the Goodwill Calgary Impact Centre composed entirely of individuals facing barriers to employment. They use cotton-based materials to create cleaning cloths, mixed rags, reusable tote bags, and aprons. Winter clothing in good condition is sorted and stored, and these products are offered to local nonprofits, government agencies, and more at discounted prices.

The remaining products, mostly worn, torn, stained, or otherwise unusable, are recycled. The materials are separated and sorted into over 400 different categories based on condition and fiber grade by third-party partners based in Canada and/or abroad. Textile recyclers transform old clothing, shoes, linens, and fabrics into new products. These materials are then downcycled into products like rags, insulations, and non-woven items such as emergency blankets and fillers.

Please note that Goodwill offers textile donation options at all of their stores, donation centres and Impact Centre in Calgary.