The Mishnah (28b) relates to rages which are repurposed into wicks for Shabbat lights, i.e. in oil lamps. The concern is that garments can be subject to uncleanness (if, for example, the person wearing them had an emission) and would be inappropriate for a Shabbat light. What defines a "garment" vs a "rag"? Value and intention.
"If [material] less than three [handbreadths] square is set aside for stopping a bath, pouring from a pot, or cleaning a mill . . . it is (potentially) unclean: that is R. Eliezer's view"
However:
"All admit that if it was thrown away on the refuse heap . . .it is clean; if one placed it in a chest, all agree that it is unclean."
That is, if it was thrown away and recovered, it is not a "garment." But if it had been put away (as in a chest) it must have had some value to the owner and is therefore not a "rag."
Intention matters, even in the smallest of things.
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