Three-year campaign teaches students the importance of recycling used textiles.

The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), an international trade association for the for-profit used clothing recycling industry, has reached more than 1 million students through its elementary education program.

The program, developed with The Education Center LLC, provides grade-appropriate resources for elementary teachers on the benefits of recycling used clothing and household textiles. Since the program’s launch in October 2012, 20,257 teachers nationwide have engaged in the program, with more than 21,000 resource downloads reaching 1,093,878 students.

In adherence with Common Core Standards required by schools, the curricula complements existing lesson plans and incorporates core school subjects such as math and science while teaching students that textiles can be recycled just like common household recyclables such as paper, plastic, glass and aluminum.

Source: SMART