Instead of simply donating your unwanted shoes, clothing, and other textiles, consider participating in Trashie's Take Back Bag for a no-hassle, incentive-filled, guilt-free decluttering experience.
How does Trashie's Take Back Bag work?
All you have to do is order a Take Back Bag, fill it up with things you no longer want or need, mail it back, and reap the rewards.
They accept all clothing — even underwear, swimwear, and single socks. Just make sure everything is washed. They also take shoes, bath towels, sheets, blankets, comforters, and duvet covers. Don't send anything with grease stains, as they can clog the recycling machines. Trashie additionally welcomes holiday decor, bags, purses, belts, hats, and jewelry.
If you're unsure about an item, just scroll down to the FAQ section for a thorough list of what can go in the bag.
Each Take Back Bag is $20. Buy five to get the sixth one free. You can also opt for one of their subscriptions to get a discount. For a limited time, a kid's size bag is available for $10.
The bags are made of 50% post-consumer recycled content, are fully recyclable, and come in super fun colors like double bubble pink, turquoise dream, and lavender sunset.
The one thing you can't put in these bags is scraps, but luckily Trashie can take anything 98% cotton in their Cotton Fabric Scrap Bag for $15.
Once the bags are full, scan the QR code to print your mailing label or generate a USPS QR code for drop-off.
Why should I use the Take Back Bag?
Once you ship your bag, you'll earn 20-30 TrashieCash, pending on the bag, which can be used to shop rewards from brands like For Days, In Common, Uber Eats, AMC Theaters, Hello Fresh, CoCoKind, and Hulu. It truly pays to give back.
You can even maximize your rewards by shopping with partner brands like Walmart, Best Buy, Lowes, Madewell, Anthropologie, and Sephora.
According to Trashie's website, consumption has increased by 400% over the last 20 years, and 85% of all clothing ends up in the trash. You can do your part to keep 15 pounds of clothing and textile waste from ending up in landfills one bag at a time.
Every Take Back Bag also saves 1,596 gallons of water — that's a week's worth of showers — and 151 pounds of toxic carbon gases, which is the equivalent of driving 2,000 miles, give or take. So it's a great way to clean your closet, get paid, and help the planet all at the same time.
You can relax knowing that your bags will get sorted in the most advanced onshore facility in North America, dividing items into one of 253 grades with the ability to handle up to 1,000,000 pounds of clothing and textile waste per week.
Trashie partners with a global network of retailers so that they're able to get the right things to the right people at the right time — definitely way more reassuring than leaving everything in a bin in the middle of a parking lot and hoping for the best. Leave your anxiety in the bag and let Trashie take care of the rest.
Are there similar programs to the Take Back Bag?
Materials Return is also doing its part in perpetuating a circular economy by taking used and leftover textiles and upcycling them into something new. While it predominantly works with brands and post-production waste at the moment, individuals can participate in Smartwool's The Second Cut Project by sending in their old, washed socks — any brand, any material.
SneakerCycle will take unwanted shoes and give them a second chance on its online thrift store for sneakers — the largest one of its kind. A recycling program dedicated solely to footwear that's affordable and reduces waste, it also reuses and upcycles materials from shoes that have seen their last days.
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