Once I’ve exhausted all of these options, then and only then do I stick a piece of clothing in the trash.
If you can’t upcycle, see if you can recycle your clothing. Denim can be recycled at places like Madewell and Levi’s (Levi's even has a program to mend/repair their denim these days!) and other stores like H&M offer recycling for other clothing items. You can also look up a clothes recycling program near you. As you can see, there are lots of options for recycling our clothes. Once I’ve exhausted all of these options, then and only then do I stick a piece of clothing in the trash.