You can use your old clothes to fund your next road trip — here's how.
Recycling startup Trashie offers huge discounts on travel, food, makeup, clothing, and more in exchange for your old clothes, and the process has never been easier.
How does Trashie's Take Back Bag work?
First, you'll order a Take Back Bag. Each bag can hold up to 15 pounds of shirts, pants, socks, shoes, jackets, towels, pillowcases — just about anything. They even have a brand new Tech Take Back Bag, so you can get rid of any old electronics, too.
If you sign up, you can get $10 off your next Trashie order. And if you're doing a deep clean of your closet, you can order the three-pack of bags and save even more money by buying in bulk.
Once the bag is filled, scan the unique QR code for the return label, and drop the bag off at any UPS store. Once Trashie receives your bag, you'll earn 30 TrashieCash, which can then be exchanged for all sorts of cool rewards — like $75 dollars off your next hotel stay.
Why should I use Trashie?
Textile waste is a huge problem. Each year, 184 billion pounds of textile waste ends up in landfills, according to Earth.Org.
Even clothing you donate might not make it where you'd expect. "Most of the clothing that we donate actually goes to landfills in other countries … that's why this time I decided to go with a Take Back Bag," said Instagram user Tania (@inspiremyfancy).
One commenter noted: "I've never even heard of this but this is literally unreal."
Trashie collects millions of pounds of clothing each year, preventing hundreds of thousands of items from reaching an early demise in landfills around the world.
🗣️ Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics?
🔘 Giving me money back 💰
🔘 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕
🔘 Making it as easy as possible ⚡
🔘 Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
A garment's lifespan has shrunk dramatically over the past decade, and fast fashion is to blame. Today, "clothing is worn only 7 to 10 times before being thrown away — a decline of more than 35% in just 15 years," per Uniform Market.
The world is over-producing and under-using, so getting a gently used garment back into use is a big win.
Are there similar programs to Trashie?
ThredUp is an online thrift store where you can buy and sell clothes, bags, shoes, and accessories. Order a bag, fill it up with old clothes, and send it back. ThredUp will send you cash or ThredUp credit for their online store.
You can also check specific clothing brands to see if they have their own recycling rewards programs. American Eagle and Lululemon both offer in-store credit in exchange for the brand's old clothing.
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