Brands are increasingly looking to tackle fashion鈥檚 huge waste problem with in-store recycling initiatives. In 2013, H&M started one of the first major brand-backed clothing collection programs, which encourages shoppers to drop off their old clothes at H&M stores worldwide. Since then, recycling boxes have become ubiquitous at some of the biggest retailers in the world, including fast-fashion giants like Zara and Mango. Target announced its first chain-wide denim take-back program that, according to a press release, will recycle people鈥檚 old jeans. When reached for comment about how the items would be recycled, a Target spokesperson said the items 鈥渨ill be recycled by Target鈥檚 trusted partners to create new products like insulation for housing, packaging and appliances.鈥�
In other words, the old jeans will not be turned into new jeans. Here鈥檚 the rub: Recycling of old textiles into new clothing doesn鈥檛 yet exist at scale. And the reality of what happens to old garments after they鈥檙e collected is often far messier than advertised. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 84% of clothes end up in landfills or incinerators. An investigation by the environmental campaign group Changing Markets Foundation, for example, found that clothing that entered H&M鈥檚 take-back program was often destroyed or dumped, per The Business of Fashion.
Enter, take-back as a service. In the last few years, a slew of tech-savvy startups have cropped up to help brands deal with the messy logistics of unwanted clothes. The methodology varies from company to company, but generally, they collect unwanted textiles 鈥� often surplus, damaged and returned merchandise 鈥� from individual consumers and retailers. From there, the providers sort, categorize and assess the quality of those materials to determine if the life of the garment can be extended, usually in the form of reuse, resale and, in fewer cases, textile-to-textile recycling.