Of course, recycling plays a crucial role in making our world cleaner and healthier by decreasing waste and conserving natural resources. Many brands have made a name for themselves and attracted thousands of loyal customers around the globe with one approach–effective recycling programs. Below is our pick of 5 famous brands with exceptional recycling programs.
Levi’s
Levi’s recycling initiative relies on their flagship product, denim. More recently, the brand teamed with Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green program to provide a more appealing offer of accepting any old pairs of jeans and shred them into insulation for homes.
They recycle and utilize the clothes as building insulation. Then, a percentage of the proceeds goes toward the construction of libraries, hospitals, and schools. The program is available at Levi’s mainline and outlet locations in the United States and Canada.
Then they give you a 20% discount on one item to cap it all off. This is a unique approach to recycle and use old clothing. However, perhaps their initiative will grow to incorporate fabrics from their whole collection.
In 2014, Levi’s partnered with global solutions provider I:CO to develop a clothes recycling campaign that accepts clothing and shoes in any condition in exchange for a 10% discount on Levi’s purchase.
Levi’s also operates a repurchase program called Levi’s Secondhand, where they buy back pre-owned Levi’s goods in return for gift cards. This approach helps to extend the life of clothing, lowering CO2 emissions and reducing textile waste.
The North Face
Because The North Face caters to outdoor enthusiasts, it’s common sense that the company also encourages environmental sustainability and recycling. Clothes the Loop, a program that promotes consumers to recycle old clothes and footwear came to exist in 2013.
The Clothes The Loop initiative of The North Face encourages individuals to donate old clothes and footwear to the company’s retail and outlet locations. Recycle your unwanted clothing and footwear (any condition, any brand) and receive a $10 gift card to spend on your next $100 or more purchase at The North Face.
They transport the items placed in collection bins to a recycling facility, where they repurpose these items for reuse or recycled into raw materials for use in goods such as insulation, carpet padding, toy stuffing, and textile fibers.
Since its inception, the initiative has extended to additional markets and gathered over 125,000 pounds of old goods. The firm is dedicated to expanding the program internationally and preventing as much apparel from ending up in landfills as possible.
Zara
In terms of sustainability and recycling, Zara doesn’t fall behind its competitors. Despite being a fast-fashion brand themselves, Zara actually has a garment collecting service that accepts all types of used apparel in some locations.
Customers can donate worn clothes the same day they receive their new Zara products through online orders. All you have to do is to put them inside the delivery box and keep it tightly sealed.
Used clothing is then donated, recycled, repurposed into new fabric, or sold. This vastly helps fund the programs of the participating NGOs. To guarantee that items reach their full potential, Zara thoroughly segregates them. Currently, the service is available in Spain, London, Paris, New York, as well as in 19 provinces in China.
Zara also offers a Join Life collection in addition to this campaign. All of their items are (at least in part) made from recycled materials; Zara aims for all of their clothes to be made from 100% sustainable fabrics by 2025.
Credo
Plastics are recycled in several municipalities. Metal springs and pump dispensers, for example, are peculiar to personal care and cosmetic items. As a result, public recycling services do not accept most skincare and cosmetics containers.
Recognizing the problem, cosmetics brand Credo has partnered with recycling business TerraCycle to accept all brands of empty personal care containers for recycling in its shops. Search the Credo website’s shop location page to find one near you.
Containers come in a variety of sizes, from little to large. Credo just requires them to be empty and spotless.
You earn 10 Credo Rewards points for each full-size beauty product you bring in, up to a limit of 12 goods each visit, in return for bringing in your empties (120 points). Travel-size containers do not get Credo points.
Staples
Unknown to most people, Staples was the first shop in the United States to establish a countrywide recycling program in 2007. Customers can recycle the items at any store in the United States, regardless of where they acquire them. The company especially focuses on utilizing certified e-Stewards Recyclers to ensure safe electronics recycling methods wherever feasible. In 2015, they gathered almost 16.7 million pounds of gadgets for this program in the United States.
Staples is also a pioneer in the recycling of ink cartridges. Every year, their customers purchase 500 million ink cartridges, with 350 million ending up in landfills. When consumers spend at least $30 on ink or toner, they launched a special program. It allows them to earn $2 in incentives for recycling ink cartridges in-store or over the mail. In addition, they recycled over 50.4 million printer and toner cartridges in 2015.
In Summary
Instead of tossing used items away, you can reuse and recycle them to save more resources in the long run. When a product reaches the end of its life, try to salvage as much as we can or recycle it into something of equal or better value.
The mentioned brands offered ways to make recycling easier and more convenient for the average consumer. If you’re someone who loves shopping and cares about the environment, don’t hesitate and make use of these useful recycling programs. Together, we can create more green alternatives and save Earth’s limited resources.
If these recycling programs are not available at your favorite brands yet, shop through Tenere so that you can contribute to the environment still.
