Dive Brief:
- Apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters has announced that it has extended a collaboration with I:Collect, a closed-loop textile recycler.
- Through the program, consumers discard used clothes, shoes and textiles into bins located inside AE stores. As an incentive, AE provides customers who participate with a coupon to be used on an in-store purchase. Items collected will be transformed into filling materials, insoles, bags, flooring, pellets and packaging.
- I:CO partners with brands to facilitate the collection of apparel across 50 countries. The recycler is working to recycle every single piece it collects by 2020. Currently, 30% of the donated materials are recycled.
Dive Insight:
Retail stores aren’t the only ones getting into the clothing recycling game: Communities across the US are establishing textile recycling in their towns. In February of 2014, San Francisco partnered with Goodwill to establish a “Zero Waste Initiative”, while a new sustainable clothing label based in North Carolina uses plastic water bottles to create its line.
