A long time ago, far far away, my Mother made me a jacket out of some plaid material. It was coarse and tough as nails. She lined it with something, I don't know what. She did this on her (now mine) old HOTHER straight stitch machine. I wore that jacket until the lining wore out and then kept on wearing it. I outgrew it actually. Not in height, but in diameter. I never threw it away, but now I can't find it. I'm looking for it, I want it desperately. I want to use it as a goal. To loose enough weight to wear it again. And now that I'm learning to sew, I'll want to re-line it with the old HOTHER machine.
We never knew about this green nonsense but we didn't waste things. More often than not my pants were patched until the patches had patches. Or until they just could not be patched again. Sometimes my shirts were too.
My wife uses old clothes for quilt parts and other craft items.
As for the sewing machines, I'll admit I've acquired quite a few in recent months. A couple just to save them from the trash. They will be used and appreciated at least until my wife and I can't use them any more. After that I worry.
Joe