Here are some resources and websites recommended by Madeleine, that are great to check out: 

  • American Textile Recycling Services, which collects donations at drop-off locations, then sorts through everything. (To Find a drop off location in your neighborhood and make a clothing donation, you can call their 24-Hour Hotline 866-900-9308).

  • Recycle Now is another great website that helps you find bins if you’re in the UK. 

  • Council for Textile Recycling (FYI, the website’s locator tool is a bit wonky at the moment. I recommend calling before making a drop-off).

  • Simple Recycling offers curbside pickup in certain cities! Check to see if they’re available in your city here.

  • Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) Association is a great resource that will help you find local textile recycling bins and programs in your area!

  • Goodwill accepts ALL textile donations, in any condition (except wet or contaminated with hazardous materials) so they can be re-used or recycled into new products. I recommend calling ahead to confirm they’ll accept your old textiles to be recycled.

  • You can also recycle your old clothes through programs such as For Days or Terracycle’s Fabrics and Clothing Zero Waste Box.(NOTE: Terracycle can get a bit pricey so I would recommend getting a group of friends together to make this option more cost-effective).

  • Donate your gently used shoes to Soles4Souls. Their mission? To create sustainable jobs and provide relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing.

  • Nike has a Reuse-A-Shoe program where they take old athletic shoes, grind them up, and use them to create courts, fields, tracks, and playgrounds.

  • Recycle your blue jeans at Blue Jeans Go Green. This program takes old jeans and converts them into housing insolation.

  • Levi’s also has a great denim recycling program, check it out here and The North Face’s “Clothes The Loop” program will also recycle your old clothes and shoes (any condition, any brand) for you as well. Click here to find a The North Face retail store near you in North America and click here to find an Outlet store.

  • H&M offers a “Garment Collecting Program” – Take any unwanted clothes or textiles, by any brand and in any condition, to any of their stores. I suggest you call a store ahead of time just to make sure they know you’re coming and are offering this service at their store!

  • Poshmark, thred UP, Goodwill online, DePoP, restitch (not currently taking returns at the moment), Swap

  • Trade your stuff locally and sustainably on Bunz.