The Brands With the Best Clothing-Recycling Programs

As a bunch of fashion-loving individuals, it’s hard not to always focus on what’s new and exciting. And yes, most of us love to shop too. But we’d simply be irresponsible not to acknowledge that cherishing the contents of our closets doesn’t stop when we lose interest or a trend begins to die down. Instead, we aim to do right by every product we purchase and make sure it finds a new home after we’re done with it. Thankfully, the clothes recycling programs below are here to help.

With Earth Day coming up (it’s April 22), we compiled a handy guide to know where and how to donate the loved but unwanted pieces of your wardrobe at stores you already shop. While some brands ask you to drop off and others have you ship away, there’s a common thread: All these brands make it simple to reduce and recycle your belongings. Some of them even reuse the leftover pieces and put them to good use in creating something new.

Scroll down to see which one is the best fit for you.

Madewell

How it works: Madewell will donate your old, worn-out jeans to Blue Jeans Go Green when you turn them in at a store location.

The Bonus: You get $20 off your next pair of jeans.

Reformation

How it works: Through “RefRecycling” and a partnership with Community Recycling, you can reuse the box from your latest Reformation order and pack it with clothing you’d otherwise recycle or donate. Print a label from the site, schedule a pickup, and voilà.

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How it works: Turn in any clothing and shoe donations to the store. It also accepts empty beauty containers from its in-house brand.

The Bonus: How’s 10% off your next purchase sound?

H&M

How it works: Not only can you turn in used clothing and other textiles for recycling at H&M stores, but the company will even use some of the products it recycles for future Conscious Collection pieces.

The bonus: Every time you make a donation, you’ll get 15% off your next purchase.

Patagonia

How it works: If you’re ready to recycle a past Patagonia item, you can either bring it into the store, a select Patagonia retailer, or ship it back by following the directions on its site.

Zara

How it works: Select Zara stores will have donation boxes where you can drop off unwanted products. Before you show up with your arms full, be sure to check if your nearest location participates.

Levi's

How it works: Levi’s offers prepaid labels on its site to use on shipping a donation box of clothing and textiles. Simply fill it and drop the box off at the post office.

The bonus: Not only does Levi’s offer you 20% off a new item when you donate, but it will also give $5 per donated box to Goodwill.

Eileen Fisher

How it works: Select Eileen Fisher stores will accept donations of old items from the brand. Otherwise, you can also ship to one of its recycling centers. Some of the pieces will even be renewed into new items for sale.

The bonus: For every recycled item from Eileen Fisher, you receive a $5 reward to the store.

North Face

How it works: Unwanted clothing and shoes can be dropped off at donation boxes in the stores.

The bonus: You earn $10 off your next purchase of $100 or more.

Go ahead and do something good for your closet (and the earth) and utilize at least one clothes recycling program as you streamline your wardrobe.