Sustainably recycle clothing with the Take Back Bag!
Listen, my kids are dirty ALL THE TIME. They love to explore and we are outside every day so stains are a way of life in this household. That is one reason I love to buy second-hand clothes for my kids through hand-me-downs or local consignment stores. The problem is that I can’t pass down everything that my kids wear BECAUSE of the stains. Enter the Take Back Bag. MIND BLOWN.
This post contains affiliate links and I will receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase through the links on this page. I filled and recycled 12 Take Back Bags before I FINALLY became an affiliate since this is such an amazing service and I want to tell everyone about it!
I was SO excited when I found the Take Back Bag from Trashie, but I was hesitant because recycling can be complicated and I don’t have a lot of bandwidth to deal with complicated. This company literally blew me away. The process was so SIMPLE! You can send any kind of textile in the bag (jeans, rugs, blankets, underwear…) and they will recycle the clothing into insulation, rugs, or cleaning materials. For each bag, you earn $30 in Trashie cash to spend on a variety of online retailers! All of that just for cleaning out my closet (and keeping more things out of the landfill? I. AM. IN.
What is the Take Back Bag?
The Take Back Bag is the EASIEST and most FUN way to recycle clothing and textiles you are done using. Buy a bag, fill it up, and mail it in to get your Trashie Cash to use at other online retailers. Textiles and clothing get sorted to be reused or recycled into cleaning rags, insulation, pet bedding filling etc. Trashie tracks their shipments to ensure they go to the right places (and don’t get dumped in other countries). They partner with a global network of retailers who buy very specific items they need in that particular area of the world.
How does the Take Back Bag work?
This process is SO SIMPLE.
- Order one (or 3!) Take Back Bags
- Fill them with CLEAN stained, worn, ripped clothing and textiles (shoes, towels, sheets, clothing).
- Scan the QR code to get your free mailing label
- Drop them off at the post office (this is easily the hardest step).
- Earn $30 cash back to spend at a variety of online retailers!
I ordered 3 bags from the website and they arrived in these cute recycled envelopes within a few days. Cute. Sustainable. Timely. This is already a beautiful relationship. Each bag costs $20, but the cost is totally worth it because of the $30 cash back you can use to spend at a variety of online stores and a prepaid mailing label. Spoiler alert, these bags are HUGE and would cost a fortune to mail myself.
We easily (and quickly) filled up all 3 bags. Let me tell you, they were FULL. After we sealed them, I scanned the QR code from the sticker on each bag to generate a mailing label and then dropped them off at USPS. Okay, let me be honest here. My husband dropped them off.
In conclusion, this was such a smooth and easy process and honestly brought me a lot of joy! Choosing sustainability is not usually easy or simple and I need both of those things as a mom of 3 littles. I love finding companies like this that create innovative services to make sustainability a little bit more convenient.
Now, we always have a take-back bag in our closet ready to fill and it ends up getting filled up much faster than I imagined. As I embrace my postpartum body, I’m getting rid of anything that is out of date or doesn’t fit me the way that it used to. As my kids grow out of their clothing, it’s super easy to throw stained clothes (make sure they are clean!) in the bag before passing down the rest. Most Recently I also tossed our bathroom rug in the bag because it was falling apart. I plan to replace a few of our towels using my Trashie Cash next!
What can you recycle?
You can basically recycle any type of clothing, shoes, or purses, but they must be CLEAN (come on, mailing dirty clothing across the country in a bag is GROSS). Textiles and clothing can be ripped, damaged, bleached, stained, and unwearable, but they can’t be dirty. Got it?
I had a ton of old underwear, stained baby clothing, and clothes with pit stains that I desperately needed to get rid of. Not only has my body type and size changed (hello babies), but a lot of the clothing I recycled was leftover from my 10 year teaching career. I literally had a cardigan in every color (side note, what do people wear instead of cardigans???). Since my husband now works from home, he had a bunch of clothing he needed to get rid of as well. We had quite the party cleaning out our closet together!
How big is the Take Back Bag?
This bag is way bigger than I was expecting! I was quite impressed when I first got it! It can hold up to 15 pounds of clothing! I tried to overstuff one of the bags and it popped back open, so don’t do that! I will say these bags are generous if you pack your clothes right! You can get a lot in there!
How do you earn credit with the Take Back Bag?
There is a QR code you scan on each bag to generate the mailing label. As soon as you mail in your bags, they send credit to your account online where you can shop from a TON of different brands! The first time I used my credit, I bought this shirt by Able,which is a woman-owned, ethical clothing company. This is my FAVORITE shirt! It’s super soft, drapes perfectly, and isn’t too tight or too loose. I would stock my closet in every color if that was a possibility! Next time I think I’m going to use my credit to replace some of our bath towels!
Why do you love the take back bag so much?
I love finding simple ways that help us to live more sustainably and this one is so simple it’s a no-brainer! I think of the Take Back Bag as a utility line item in our budget. We have one in our closet at all times. That makes it easy to recycle instead of throw away. As I go through my clothing (and the kids’ clothing), I toss anything stained or torn (but clean!) right into the Take Back Bag. I have a “Sell” bin and a “donate” bin in my closet too! Sorting clothing right from the “to fold” pile to the bins eliminates the need for me to spend a whole afternoon doing it at once. I also don’t have to make decisions as often and that is definitely a simplifying hack!
For my birthday this year, I asked people to bring me their old clothing to recycle and I was able to fill 9 Take Back Bags! Now I just need to convince all of my friends to buy a bag for themselves!
Why choose to recycle clothing?
Before starting this process, I didn’t actually know how detrimental clothing waste is. Did you know that 85% of clothing ends up in landfills and “The EPA states that clothing recycling today has an equivalent impact of removing one million cars from the nation’s roads.” That’s crazy. Check it out for yourself here.
The Take Back Bag is one way I can feel good about getting rid of clothing we are done using.
Additional ways to think sustainably about clothing
I read The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth L. Cline, a few years ago and that book completely changed how I think about clothing and the fast fashion industry. I buy and use clothing SO much differently now!
While we have bought second-hand clothing for our kids forever, Matt and I have also started buying second-hand clothing for ourselves. He is able to find like new (or new) clothing on EBAY that he loves, but it’s a little harder to do that with Women’s sizes. I love shopping at Style Encore, a local second hand clothing chain. When possible, we try to buy second-hand clothing for our whole family; however, there are some pieces I will always buy new the first time. While shopping, I try to buy natural fibers (wool, organic cotton, etc) due to the PFAS chemicals present in lots of clothing (this is especially true of polyester).
If second-hand clothes aren’t your thing, you can also choose to say no to fast fashion (I see you Amazon) and invest in some fair trade pieces instead. If you love fashion, renting clothing may be a good fit for you!
Do any other companies offer clothing recycling?
The good news is that more brands are starting to participate in clothing recycling programs! American Eagle will give you $10 off your next pair of jeans if you bring in a previous pair. Athleta and North Face are starting to participate in the circular clothing economy and are a great resource if you want to recycle clothing. Choose to shop from outdoor clothing brands that have recycling options like Patagonia, Farm to Feet, and iksplor. While more companies are thinking more circular, most are just not there yet and I’m super thankful for the Take Back Bag to use in the meantime!
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