Eco-closet tip: Take care of your clothes, so they last longer. An easy way to make that happen: Use good hangers for your green fashions! Here are four options to keep your organic and eco-friendly ‘fits pretty, ordered according to my preference:
EcoHangers are made of 100% recycled paper — which also make them 100% recyclable to boot. For dry cleaners or other businesses eager to promote their business, the hangers are customizable with your logo. Get them online: $8.99 for 12.
Paper Ditto Hangers are unfortunately for businesses — like retail fashion companies and drycleaners — only. I discovered these through Maggie’s Functional Organics — and if I had a clothing biz, I’d totally order ‘em. The only reason I’m not keeping the ones I got is because the hook part’s too big — and won’t fit in the small space between the roof and rod in my closet.
Wheatware Clothes Hangers are made of U.S.-grown wheat! While these are technically biodegradable, the degrading only happens under high temperatures in commercial composting facilities — and because we don’t have a composting system set up in SoCal, the products are less than ideal. If you get ‘em, use them at least until LA gets its own composting facility set up. Cost: $4.95 per 5.
Earthsaver hangers are also biodegradable — and also pose the same composting issues as Wheatware hangers. These’re made in the US by Merrick, and while I haven’t been to Wal-Mart in about a decade, I hear Earthsaver hangers are available there. Cost: $3.50 for 5.
Plastic Ditto Hangers aren’t recycled but are recyclable, since they’re made of 100% PET. Ditto only services businesses, however; individuals are outta luck. Upside: Many styles other than the one pictured are available.
Please don’t throw your hangers out! Reuse is better than anything else. Keep hanging your clothes on the hangers you’ve got, and keep encouraging your drycleaner to reuse the wire hangers you get. Only pick from the above options if you’re in dire need of new hangers –
Photos from respective hangers’ websites, except paper Ditto Hangers, by Siel
Hi Green LA Girl,
Thanks for your including our Ditto Hangers in your green hanger review. We feel our solutions are the best ones out there for the unrecyclable, and toxic, hanger.
We are about to release our Ditto Paper hangers to consumers in the next month. They have a new redesigned hook to fit the newer rod/wire mesh closet systems. They’ be sold under the name Ditto 10-Pack. If you’re interested send us a note by visiting our website at http://www.dittohangers.com and fill out our contact form.
Gary Barker
Founder
Ditto Hangers
Comment by Gary Barker — August 19, 2008 @ 8:49 am
Correction, please.
While Wheatware hangers are compostable, they uniquely biodegrade in fertile soil, bypassing commercial composting facilities. Biocompostable, Wheatware hangers are strong withstanding 212 degrees F, unlike the corn/pla hangers which must avoid heat beyond 120 degrees F. Vast amounts of water is required and disposed of in making recycled paper products. Wheatware is tree/paper-free to save forests.
Comment by warren — August 19, 2008 @ 9:19 am
warren — When does fertile soil reach 212 degrees Fahrenheit? I might also point out that vast amounts of water is required and disposed of in growing wheat.
Gary — Glad to hear Ditto hangers’ll soon be made available to the general public –
Comment by Siel — August 21, 2008 @ 10:13 am
Thanks for the support, Siel. We really wanted to use bio-plastics but couldn’t due to so many reasons: lack of municipal composting facilities around the country, competition with food sources, toxic agricultural methods, on and on. We hope to use them in the future but we felt the time’s not right.
Also I should explain to Warren that recycled means “tree-free”. Plus using recycled paper means that we save 5.6 trees (which scrub 83lbs of CO2 from the atmosphere), 126.6 gallons of oil, 1333.3 kilowatts or energy and 2,333.3 gallons of water over virgin paper for 4,000 hangers (a typical store). Plus they keep a cubic yard of polystyrene hangers out of the landfill.
Siel you can buy our hangers already. We sell them by the carton (typically 100). Buy a carton and divide them up with your friends. Fill out the form on our website (www.dittohangers.com) to order. We hope to have our Ditto 10-Packs in the stores in the next month or so.
Best,
Gary Barker
Founder
Ditto Hangers
Comment by Gary Barker — August 21, 2008 @ 11:36 am