Almost nothing feels better than clearing the clutter out of your home and closets but what do you do with the items that you no longer need? If donating them isn’t an option, we always try to find the best way to recycle them and, after years of finding odd spots to handle all the things we come across, we thought that we should share our list. This first installment is about recycling clothing, shoes and textiles.
Happy Organizing!
How/Where to Recycle Clothing
CATEGORY: Clothing (Any Brand)
Terracycle: Zero Waste Box: TerraCycle has created a zero-waste solution for fabrics and clothing among other hard to recycle items. Buy a box from the site and use it to recycle any textile or fabric-based products including clothing. Collected fabrics are then segregated into their respective categories (such as nylons, cottons etc.) and then either reused, upcycled or recycled as appropriate.
Give Back Box: Reuse your online shipping boxes in which you received your purchases, or any other cardboard box you may have, to donate your unwanted household items: such as gently used clothing, shoes etc., to make a major difference in the life of another person. Then, print out a pre-paid label from the Give Back Box site. From there, the box will be picked up and sent to those in need.
Participating Stores/Retailers:
Kenneth Cole: Print a free shipping label from their site to pack up your donation or donate in-person at their Bond + Bowery store and receive 20% off a full-price pair of shoes.
H&M – Be a Fashion Recycler: Drop your bag of unwanted clothing in the recycling box at your local H&M store. All textiles are welcome – any brand, any condition – even odd socks, worn-out T-shirts and old sheets. The textiles are then sent to the nearest recycling plant, where they’re sorted by hand. For every bag of textiles you drop off, you’ll receive a discount card for 15% off your next in-store purchase.
North Face – Close the Loop: Drop off unwanted clothing and footwear (any brand and any condition) at The North Face Retail and Outlet Stores and earn a $10 reward toward your next purchase of $100 or more at The North Face.
Wearable Collections: Wearable Collections and GrowNYC partnered to bring more textile recycling options to New Yorkers by providing their service to those who are unable to recycle clothing inside their buildings. Click here to find their locations throughout the week.
CATEGORY: Clothing (Brand Specific)
Eileen Fisher – Renew: Bring back your old EILEEN FISHER clothes in any condition and they’ll give you a $5 Renew Rewards card for each item, redeemable online at eileenfisher.com or at EILEEN FISHER and Renew stores.
Patagonia – Worn Wear: Bring in Patagonia clothing that functions perfectly and is in good condition and, when you trade it in, they’ll give you credit toward purchases in Patagonia retail stores, on WornWear.com and Patagonia.com.
Patagonia – Clothing Recycling: All Patagonia products are accepted for recycling. Any Patagonia product that has reached the end of its useful life may be sent back to us or dropped off at a retail location to be recycled or repurposed.
CATEGORY: Denim
Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green™ Program: Many companies participate in this program that recycles denim and reduces textile waste. Denim is made mostly from cotton, a sustainable fiber, which can be broken down to its natural state and transformed into something new. By diverting denim away from landfills, where it would otherwise join the millions of pounds of textiles thrown out every year, Cotton's Blue Jeans Go Green™ program strives to make the world a little greener
Participating Stores/Retailers:
Zappos: Print a pre-paid shipping label to send your worn 90% cotton jeans to be diverted from landfill and recycled into building materials and insulation
American Eagle: Set aside your old jeans (any brand, any color, any style) to recycle the next time you come into AE. We’ll still give you $10 off your next pair of new AE jeans!
Madewell: Stop by one of our stores with your pre-loved pairs from any brand and our friends from Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green™ program will turn them into housing insulation for organizations like Habitat for Humanity—and we’ll give you $20 off new ones.
Levi's: Drop off denim from any brand and give your jeans new life at Levi’s® stores and outlets and receive 20% off single item when you recycle denim in store.
rag & bone: Drop off denim from any brand to any rag & bone store and enjoy 20% off your denim purchase that day.
CATEGORY: Bras
This is typically a tough category when it comes to donating so we were excited to find a few options for gently used or unused bras.
Free the Girls: This non-profit exists to help women rescued from sex trafficking reintegrate into their communities through their economic empowerment model of collecting bras (from people just like you!) and helping formerly trafficked women in developing countries become entrepreneurs selling these bras in their local second-hand clothing markets in their communities. Drop off gently used or unused bras to select drop-off locations (check their map) or mail them to the address on the website.
I Support the Girls: This non-profit operates across the US and globally collecting and distributing essential items, including bras, underwear, and menstrual hygiene products, allowing women experiencing homelessness, impoverishment, or distress to stand tall with dignity. Product donations are accepted in select drop-off locations or items can be mailed to the address on the website.
The Bra Recyclers: This for-profit clothing recycling company aims to recycle, reuse or repurpose bras while providing substantial social benefits to women and girls escaping domestic violence, drug addiction, human trafficking and breast cancer survivors. Drop off gently used or unused bras to select drop-off locations or mail them to the address on the website.
CATEGORY: Shoes
Native Shoes: Print a pre-paid shipping label from the Zappos website to send in up to a 50lb box of shoes to be recycled and turned into playground mats.
Nike – Reuse-a-Shoe: Drop off your used athletic sneaker at any participating Nike retail store and help fuel their Reuse-A-Shoe program which recycles athletic shoes at the end of their life, giving them a new life through Nike Grind. They accept any brand of athletic sneakers, but are unable to recycle sandals, dress shoes, boots, or shoes with metal (like cleats or spikes).
Soles 4 Soles: Drop off new and gently worn shoes at participating locations or ship them with a free shipping label via Zappos to help individuals start and sustain small businesses to lift themselves out of poverty. Donated shoes are a viable resource to help entrepreneurs provide crucial necessities for their families.
And, if you are looking for some regular donation spots in and around New York City, check out our blog post here about some of our favorite spots.