How to give back as you clear out

A good Spring clean presents us with the opportunity to do away with the old, possibly to make room for the new, or simply to create more space in our homes. It may be that you take your pre-loved items to charity shops, or for some of the more loved items the local dump may be the only place for them. What you may not know is that there are items among those unwanted goods, no matter the condition, that can be recycled. I want to highlight a few such initiatives because if there are ways that your pre-loved goods can be recycled or reused then why not do it?

CLOTHES

When it comes to clearing out clothes it seems senseless that so many old clothes end up in landfill. Thankfully a number of fashion brands have realised the value in recycling and upcycling these clothes for you, in turn this helps them to achieve a more sustainable future for fashion.

H&M is one such brand, through their Garment Collection scheme if you bring a supermarket sized carrier bag of clothing (of any brand) into their store and drop it into their recycling box, they will exchange it for a £5 voucher off a £25 spend at H&M.

Marks & Spencer is another High Street store that will reward their customers for donating old clothes. The M&S Shwopping initiative encourages shoppers to donate unwanted items of clothing (again from any brand) to Oxfam for resale or to be reused in different countries around the world, or to recycle the fibres to make new material (which can be used by businesses like M&S, for example, as mattress filling). Absolutely nothing goes to landfill and Oxfam will use the money raised to help end extreme poverty around the world. There are shwopping boxes in all M&S stores but to benefit from the £5 M&S clothing and home voucher (i.e. £5 off a £35 spend at M&S stores) you must take your donation, containing at least one item of M&S clothing, directly to an Oxfam store where you will be given the voucher.

Boden invite their customers to support British baby banks by returning their hard-wearing Boden children’s clothes to them so that they can be donated to organisations such as Baby Basics, Little Village and Aberneccessities. You simply place the items back into your latest Boden packaging, making sure they’re snug and secure and post them off to the address supplied using a free post label.

Levi’s have partnered with the Blue Jeans Go Green program, an initiative focused on recycling denim. All Levi’s stores and outlets have a recycling box where you can drop off any unwanted denim from any brand and in exchange you can benefit from 20% off a single item purchase in their store.

& Other Stories have also introduced an in-store recycling program in an attempt to reduce their environmental footprint in the fashion world. Simply fill a bag with any textiles, and from any brand, bring it to your closest store and receive a voucher with a 10% recycling treat as a thank you. I know at present we don’t have a store in Northern Ireland but here’s hoping that will be realised soon!

Bravissimo run a bra recycling scheme across their UK stores. All you need to do is take your old or unwanted bras, in whatever condition, to one of their stores and drop it into their recycling bins. For every kg of bras they receive they will donate to Coppafeel to support their work in highlighting the importance of checking your breasts regularly to give everyone the best possible chance of surviving breast cancer.

SHOES

If you’re getting rid of shoes please remember that Schuh offer rewards for unwanted shoes via their Sell your soles (for adults) and Too big for your boots (for children) schemes. If you bring your old, worn shoes (any brand) to a Schuh store they will you £5 off voucher for each pair donated which can be used to buy a brand new pair in-store or online of £25 or more.

Clarks partner with the charity UNICEF through their Shoe Share initiative. Customers are encouraged to donate unwanted shoes to the store which in turn enables Clarks to raise funds for the work of UNICEF as they strive to transform the lives of children across the world.

Runners Need stores operate a recycling scheme whereby you can take your old trainers to one of their stores (find your nearest) to be sent away to be reused if they're in good enough condition, or recycled if they're not. From time to time the store offer a £20 voucher for bringing in old trainers under their Recycle my run voucher scheme. My advice is to keep an eye on their website and you might just get lucky!

MAKE-UP

M·A·C accepts returns of its primary packaging through the Back to M·A·C Program. By returning 6 M·A·C primary packaging containers to a M·A·C counter, you’ll receive a free M·A·C lipstick of your choice (this excludes Viva Glam Lipstick and Limited Edition Lipstick). I’m a big M·A·C fan so I think this one is a pretty great incentive to recycle.

TOILETRIES

Kiehl’s operate a Recycle & Be Rewarded scheme, when you return your empty skincare products you receive stamps on your loyalty card - 5 stamps give you 5% off while 10 stamps entitle you to 10% off or a free travel size product.

In partnership with Terracycle L’Occitane run a recycling program to encourage you to recycle your empty beauty and skin care products. You can do this two ways - when ordering online request a TerraCycle envelope to fill with your L’Occitane empties and return via a Freeport address. Or you can take your empty beauty and skin care products from L’Occitane or any beauty brand to one of their stores and you will receive 10% off a full price product in-store.

Lush have a bring back five pots scheme, upon returning five normal sized black or clear Lush pots, thoroughly cleaned, you will receive a complimentary fresh face mask as a thank you. And it has to be said, those face masks are magical!

The Body Shop runs Refill & Recycle schemes. They also work with Terracycle in their recycling efforts and ask customers to return empty beauty bottles, jars, pots, tubs and tubes to the recycle bins in their stores. At times they have offered a £5 Recycle Reward Voucher programme so keep an eye out for that.

As if & Other Stories weren’t doing enough to reduce their environmental footprint they also have a sustainable approach within their beauty range. All empty beauty containers including colour cosmetics, bath and body and skin care ranges can be returned to your closest store where you can then avail of a 10% discount on items purchased. This voucher can be used once is valid for three months.

What do you do with your old clothes, textiles and shoes? Maybe you know of more stores that reward you for recycling? If so, please let us know in the comments below or via our Twitter site.