Smartwool
If you walked into your room, opened your sock drawer and looked inside, I am almost positive that half of you would pull out socks with holes, stray strings, or even ones without a match. These seemingly small items cause a total of 11,300 tons of clothing to end up in landfills annually. The question is, how can we prevent this? Well, Smartwool, a renowned outdoor clothing brand, has created an innovative solution that effectively keeps millions of socks out of landfills. With their new Sock Recycling Program, Smartwool has taken a step toward citizens living a more sustainable future by giving your socks a second life.
How does it work?
Smartwool’s Recycling Program is an easy and effective way to keep socks out of the landfill. The program is specifically designed to simply and reduce the hassle of recycling. To participate in their program, you only need to gather old or worn-out socks, regardless of brand, and drop them off at the nearest Smartwool retail store which can be found on their official website. What happens to the recycled socks?
After the socks have been dropped at the nearest Smartwool retail shop, the socks undergo a meticulous recycling process which consists of breaking down the socks and separating the materials for reuse. Through the process, the wool fibers found inside the socks are repurposed to create new products which ultimately reduces the need for virgin materials and minimizes the environmental impact. The process allows for Smartwool to re-spin old socks into new yarn. This process perfectly blends the yarn with the Merino wool allowing them to design an elasticized arch and seamless toe for all customers' comfort, providing an outstanding recycling/upcycling process. Why should you participate?
Smartwool has created a remarkable process for recycling old and unwanted socks and turning them into new and improved ones. By participating in their sock recycling program, you will be playing an active role in reducing waste and promoting a more circular economy. Instead of tons of thousands of unwanted socks ending up in a landfill, they will find a new life and purpose while contributing to sustainable practices within the fashion industry. Smartwool’s commitment to sustainability:
Smartwool has dedicated their company to minimizing their environmental footprint and making a positive impact on the world around them. Outside of their sock recycling program, they prioritize responsible sourcing, invest in renewable energy, and continuously seek innovative solutions to create durable and high-performance products that stand the test of time. Do not let your socks go to waste! Take advantage of Smartwool’s Sock Recycling Program and help them carry out their plans to live a more sustainable future. By participating in the initiative, you will help contribute to reducing textile waste and promoting a more environmentally conscious approach to today's fashion. Join Smartwool on their mission to create a more sustainable world, one sock at a time. To learn more visit their website, or my post on instagram.
Blue Jeans Go Green
How many of us have WAY too many pairs of blue jeans hanging in our closet waiting to be worn? I know I do. While a big majority of unwanted jeans end up in the hands of retail shops or donation centers, 2.16 million tons end up in landfills. While donating your unwanted jeans is a great way to go, Blue Jeans Go Green provides a denim recycling program that repurposes old or unwanted jeans, making them into new and improved items. With their denim recycling program, Blue Jeans Go Green is taking one more step to reducing landfill waste and providing citizens with a more environmentally stable future.
How does it work?
Blue Jeans Go Green’s program is based off of a shipping program for donations/recycling. Sending denim can be done by packing old or unwanted denim into a box and assuring that each box weighs no more than 50 pounds each. Customers are welcome to send in more than one box at a time so long as each box has a new printed label. These boxes can then be dropped off at any UPS store and location and will be sent to Blue Jeans Go Green headquarters.What happens to the recycled socks?
It is important to note that while the company does accept blended materials, they ask that denim sent in contain at least 90% cotton. Once the material is sent in, it is returned to its original cotton fiber state and is turned into insulating material. Why should you participate?
Blue Jeans Go Green is a great organization to take part in that truly works toward and cares about the future of the environment. The company specifically states that “By participating, you’re acknowledging your commitment to sustainable living and you can feel good about giving the cotton-based garments you no longer use new purpose and supporting Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program’s efforts to keep textile waste out of landfills and assist in building efforts that support communities across America.” Blue Jeans Go Green’s commitment to sustainability:
Not only is Blue Jeans Go Green dedicated to keeping old and worn denim out of the landfill, but is also taking an active stance in recycling in itself as it conserves natural resources, saves energy, and reduces the need for ever growing landfill space. The company has dedicated themselves to recycling worn out denim for the past two decades and has recycled a total of 4.58 million pieces of denim showing their dedication to making the world a better place. Do not let your old and worn denim end up in a landfill! Use this opportunity that Blue Jeans Go Green is providing and help them continue enacting beneficial environmental efforts. Join the company on their journey to making the world a better place, one item at a time. To learn more visit their website.
For Days
As I am sure many of us can attest to whether we want to admit it or not, we are all wasteful. Whether it comes in the form of socks, linen, shoes, or bags, we have all taken part. Of the annual 140 million tons of waste that ends up in landfills, each of us contributes to at least a fraction of it. With this said, it is important to realize the negative impacts it has on the earth and seek out ways to turn this negative cycle around. Thankfully, that is where For Days comes into hand.
How does it work?
For Days has a program that revolves around what they call a Take Back Bag. This bag is bought and shipped to your home where you can fill it with old, unwanted, or unnecessary items that you no longer need. The next step is to scan the QR code on the bag, choose a shipping option, and immediately get your “Closet Cash”. The last and final step for customers is to take the Take Back Bag to a nearby UPS location and send it back to For Days for them to recycle and repurpose. What happens to the bag’s contents?
Once the bag reaches headquarters, For Days recycles 100% of the bags and upcycles the contents giving them a new purpose in the form of insulation, rugs, and cleaning materials. Why should you participate?
For Days is a company dedicated to creating a better environment. With each Take Back Bag, For Days saves 16,000 gallons of water, 15 pounds of clothing from landfills, and 118 pounds of CO2 emissions. For Days is dedicated to working with their recycling partners in order to repurpose each and every item to keep them diverted from landfills. For Days’s commitment to sustainability:
For Days is the first recycling and reward program brought to the cause and since launching in 2018 has made tremendous steps toward bettering the future for reducing fashion waste. Not only does the company recycle and repurpose customers' unwanted items while giving them company rewards, but also maintains their very own recycled clothing line showing customers just how dedicated they are to sustainability. Do not let unwanted items go to waste! Join For Days in their ongoing efforts to reduce waste within the fashion industry and help lead our environment to a better future. To learn more about For Days and the Take Back Bag visit their website.