Noelle e-mailed asking if I had any ideas on recycling old bras. First, I told her she could hang oranges in them in her kitchen window instead of using one of those wire basket thingys. Then I suggested making it into a sling shot (I’m so helpful, aren’t I?). Now, I’m done being silly and immature about it (for now) and I’ve found some actual ways to recycle your old bras.
I found a lot of helpful hints in the comments on this post (and discovered that I’m not the only one to think of fruit baskets and slingshots as uses).
- Make a bra purse to promote breast cancer awareness.
- Use them to support fruit and tomatoes growing in your garden so they don’t break off before ripening.
- Donate bras that aren’t totally shot to your local women’s shelter (many women show up with absolutely nothing).
Craft Chi has instructions on making a bra wristlet and a bra eye mask.
If you can’t use your current bras because you’re nursing, Jan Andrea has instructions on turning regular bras into nursing bras.
eHow has a bunch of suggestions, including making an iPod holder, patching ripped clothes, or making a scented drawer sachet out of the cup material.
If you’re in the UK, there’s an organization called BreastTalk Bra Appeal that distributes bras to women in need and makes quilts out of the fabric from bras that are no longer wearable, and Style Dash says Oxfam recycles bras, too.
In Cincinnati, Cincy Chic held an event called Bras with Flair on the Square using donated decorated bras to raise awareness for breast cancer. Contact your local branch of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Gilda’s Club, American Cancer Society, or even your local cancer or women’s health center to see if they’re planning a similar event.
If you buy sports bras from Patagonia, they will take them back through their Common Threads Recycling program.
I called Victoria’s Secret to see if they have a bra take back program as well. They do not. The woman on the phone acted like I was insane and said, “A what?” If you feel like making a statement on this, give them a call at 1-800-411-5116, or send them an e-mail at Service@VictoriasSecret.com
Of course, the next time you buy a bra, you can always get one that turns into a handy shopping bag. So when you’re stranded at the grocery check out, you can just take your bra off (of course, when it gets too stretched out to hold the girls, I don’t know how well it will hold real melons either). Are you thinking, What the heck are you talking about, Allie? This. I am talking about this.
My old bra is totally going to be turned into a water balloon slingshot. J had better watch out the next time he’s mowing the lawn.
Thanks, Noelle!
I always do that for myself… but my kids come home just caked in grime, no matter what they’ve been doing during the day… so I just leave them in squalor while I microwave their dinners.
I suppose some people might consider it gross but I usually get a couple wears out of dress and play clothes before washing them. In the summer it’s a little bit harder but the rest of the year clothes don’t smell after wearing the one time and if I haven’t gotten them dirty there really is no reason to wash them after one wear.
Good grief, people don’t do that any more?!!? My husband does that, and he’s a computer guy at the University of MN — he gets to go to work in jeans and a t-shirt if he feels like it. He STILL changes into something more comfortable/less work oriented when he gets home.
I suspect some of that is due to the more relaxed dress codes in a lot of places. When I was in school, I was expected (by my parents) to dress up a little most days. Then I came home and changed into play clothes. Same thing when I did office work — look nice for your boss and your co-workers, come home and change into something that won’t be damaged by the tomato-based pasta sauce you’re making.
Now that I work at home, I still try to dress up for my clients, although not so much when I have a day where I’m not seeing people. I still, however, wear something dark when I make spaghetti sauce! 
So, yeah… it really IS a good idea. And I also get a few wearings out of my “good” clothes before I wash them. Saves wear and tear on the clothes AND water.