Retailers Recycling Your Clothes for You

From an environmental standpoint, the fashion industry is wearing a very bad look. Globally, 40 million tons of textiles are sent to landfills or incinerated every year and the fashion industry is responsible for over 8% of total greenhouse gas emissions. There are a lot of ways to make your wardrobe sustainable, but eventually, you’ll have to dispose of some old clothes. Fortunately, retailers are starting to make it easier to close the loop by offering clothing take-back and even resale programs.

Those that are particular about brand or condition often allow clothes to have a second life as clothing, while programs that accept anything, although convenient, rarely result in the highest use of returned items. Use this list to help you find the best option for your old clothes.

Some programs have paused during the pandemic. Call the retailer to confirm that the program is active before making a trip to the store.  

Brand Specific, Wearable

Levi’s

You can earn from $5-$35 for each piece of used, wearable Levi’s denim you return. You’ll have to book an in-store appointment to trade in up to five items. Levi’s will resell quality items online and donate the rest. Vintage denim can be worth a lot of money, so you might be better off selling yours yourself.

Patagonia

Patagonia’s Worn Wear initiative allows consumers to trade in gently worn Patagonia clothing in-store or via mail-in exchange for retail credit up to $100.

The North Face

TNF Renewed cleans and repairs previously worn, returned, damaged, or defective products from The North Face’s distribution center and sells them at an affordable price online at The North Face’s Renewed Collection, a store of refurbished clothing by the company. In the future, they hope to expand sourcing beyond regular returns.

Any Brand, Wearable

DSW

If you live near a DSW store, you can bring in your gently used shoes for redistribution through Soles4Souls. Just tell a sales associate that you are making a donation, put your shoes in the bin, and if you have a DSW VIP account, they will give you 50 points.

Gap

Gap is the biggest retailer partnering with thredUP to recycle or resell old clothes. Order a Gap x thredUP Clean Out Kit online or request one at the store and turn your gently used clothes into shopping credit redeemable at Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, or Janie and Jack.

Madewell

Madewell partners with thredUP to give shopping credit for gently used women’s and kids’ clothing, handbags, shoes, and accessories (any brand, any size) that thredUP resells from the Madewell-sponsored bag of clothes you mail in.

Reformation

Reformation rewards recycling through its partnership with online reseller ThredUP. When you request a mail-in kit through Reformation’s website you can earn Reformation credit for items that thredUP sells; or you can choose to donate your clothes and Reformation will give $5 to the Circular Fashion Fund.

The North Face

The North Face’s Clothes the Loop program is a partnership with Soles4Souls to take gently used clothes and shoes from any brand. Drop items at their retail and outlet stores and earn a $10 reward.

Own Brand, Any Condition

Eileen Fisher

With the Eileen Fisher Renew program, every Eileen Fisher piece that’s returned in-store or by mail is eligible for a $5 reward credit, regardless of condition. Worn-out clothes are recycled and the rest are refurbished for sale through the program. You can use your reward credits for new or Renew items.

Girlfriend Collective

The brand that makes athletic wear from ocean plastic also has its own recycling program. Buying a $7 shipping label from ReGirlfriend allows you to return one Girlfriend item (or five pairs of socks or underwear) to be recycled into new ones. You receive $15 in-store credit for each package you mail back.

Any Brand, Any Condition

carter’s

Children’s clothing brand carter’s has partnered with TerraCycle on a mail-in recycling program for kids’ and baby clothes. Create a TerraCycle account online to download and print a free TerraCycle shipping label. Mail-in children’s clothes from any brand in any condition (as long as it’s dry). TerraCycle will shred the clothes for recycling into furniture stuffing and home insulation. To receive 75 points for each month in which you make a donation, join carter’s Rewarding Moments Points program.

H&M

H&M began recycling clothing in 2013 and their program is still going strong. You can bring any unwanted clothes or textiles — by any brand and in any condition — to an H&M store and receive a coupon to use on your next purchase. Depending on the condition, clothes will be resold online through H&M Re:Wear (which also allows you to sell items directly) or recycled into other products like insulation.

Madewell

Madewell’s in-store denim recycling program accepts any brand of jeans in any condition. Through partnerships with thredUP and Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green™ program, jeans will either be resold (for about half the price of a new pair of jeans, you can buy second-hand Madewell jeans online through Madewell Forever) or recycled into insulation. Each time you bring in old jeans, you’ll receive $20 towards a brand-new pair of Madewell jeans.

Soma

If you live near a Soma store, you can recycle bras from any brand in any condition and receive 125 Love Soma Rewards points per bra donated. Soma partners with I Support the Girls and The Bra Recyclers to donate bras in good condition to women in need and to recycle fibers and hardware components from bras that are worn out. If there is no Soma near you, you can recycle bras through The Bra Recyclers’ mail-in program.

Universal Standard

The Universal Standard Triple R Project is a mail-in program. Order a prelabeled recycling bag for $4.50. Mail it back with up to four pieces of clothing from any brand and in any condition. Textile recycling company Marimole will use them to create new fabrics, and Universal Standard will email you a discount code worth $25 for each piece you shipped back.

Zara

Zara partners with local nonprofits to collect used clothes, linens, shoes, and accessories for textile recycling or reuse. Clothes in good condition will be donated to charity; the rest will be recycled into new textiles, insulation, and car upholstery. Donations must be neatly packaged and dropped off at a Zara store in person (or select FedEx Drop-Offs in New York).