sustainability

Recycle Old Bras and Underwear

December 13, 2019 By Kat

Sustainability in fashion is becoming a hot topic, as consumers become more conscious about the impact that their purchases are having on the environment.

The American-made lingerie and sleepwear brand Hanky Panky has an innovative Lingeriecycle program to divert worn out lingerie from landfills.

Lingerie is a problem in our landfills is because often you can’t donate it for reuse at a secondhand store due to hygiene reasons or because the item is too worn out. Furthermore, certain fabrics / trims are not biodegradable.

Through their recycling program, they process the items by separating out the metal components and sending those for metal recycling. The fabric parts of the items are shredded and turned into carpet padding.

Also good news: They accept bras and panties of all brands.

Bravo to this company for taking on this sustainability initiative. The cost of processing these items is an expense that the company is taking on. They hope to lead by example for other retail companies to also become responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle of the products they create.

Here’s how the program works!

1. For every order made on the Hanky Panky website, you can add up to 5 free Lingeriecycle envelopes to your cart. The size of each envelope is 10″ x 13″.

You must use the envelopes they provide because each envelope has a waste management recycling permit issued to it.

2. Once you receive the envelopes, stick your lingerie in there – bras or panties that are worn out and can no longer be used. They ask that you kindly clean them before shipping them off.

FYI: They do mention that gently worn bras can still be donated to local women’s shelters and organizations like Support the Girls.

3. Affix proper postage for the envelopes and send them off!

For sending my items from California, the shipping cost was about $6 per envelope. Depends on how much you stuff in there.

This program is only available in the United States. For all other questions, check out their FAQ page here.

If you enjoyed this post on sustainability, check out these related posts:
Recycle Old Jeans and Get a Coupon Here
Shoes from Recycle Plastic Bottles
Renting Clothes from Rent the Runway
Thrift Shopping at thredUp IRL

The Future of Retail

October 24, 2019 By Kat

The old retail world of big department stores and longstanding brands is being turned upside down on its head by new up-and-coming brands who are capturing the hearts (and wallets) of consumers, especially those of the Gen Z and millennial generations.

This is forcing many brands who have enjoyed decades of success to rethink their retail and marketing strategy. Stores are forced to innovate on what the consumer experience will be like and adapt to changing consumer tastes. Meanwhile, for successful online brands to further expand their footprint, they’re exploring new ways to engage with people in-person.

Enter Re:store.

The concept behind Re:store is to bring online brands that people love and give them an in-person physical presence so that their customers can interact with and feel the product in real life.

By housing all these brands under one roof, it makes it easier for shoppers to interact with many brands at once. And from the brand’s perspective, it’s more economical for them to experiment with a shared space instead of committing to a brick and mortar store or even a pop-up store.

I stumbled upon this store in Union Square in San Francisco and was intrigued by this concept. I took tons of photos of the whole space so you could see it. Enjoy!

re:store san francisco store — Storefront

When you walk in, to the right there is a nail bar! Wow. No one was there at the time, but I would have loved a retail experience where you can also get your nails done. With every brand that’s represented, there’s a little blurb that describes them.

Now here’s the rest of the store!

Each brand has a little section / some shelves.

On the descriptions, there’s also little stickers that denote different meanings like whether it’s sustainable fashion, supports a good cause, etc…

There’s jewelry too!

There’s an upstairs as well – 3 levels to be exact.

One of the stickers – IRL for the first time

On the third floor, they have a cool community space for events and such. They also said it was a free co-working space that was open to the public. Not sure if that’s changed since then, but if I lived closer, I would totally go work there!

For the calendar of future events, check out this link.

And last but not least, they also had a row of tablets for brands that have completely digital products. Each tablet was setup for a different brand, so you could sign up for a subscription for that brand – i.e. Masterclass, Calm meditation app, Imperfect Foods, and more.

Alright, that was my fun experience checking out Re:store for the first time! If you’re in the area, drop by and see it for yourself!

If you’re a brand looking to partner with them (maybe get a spot in their store!), check out these membership details on how to apply.

Even though the world is becoming increasingly digital, there’s nothing quite like an in-person shopping experience.

What do you think the future of retail will look like?

Recycle Old Jeans at Madewell

October 16, 2019 By Kat

We all have jeans that sit at bottom of our drawers or in the back of our closets that we never wear. Some are in great condition and can be donated for secondhand use. But for other denim that is too tattered to be worn, consider bringing them to Madewell to get recycled.

For example, Vince had a pair of really old jeans that had huge rips in them and weren’t usable anymore. To get rid of them in a sustainable way, I brought them to Madewell.

recycle jeans madewell — Bring old jeans

They accept any brand and any style of denim. It’s part of their partnership with Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green program. They turn your old jeans into HOUSING INSULATION for organizations like Habitat for Humanity. How cool is that?!

madewell recycle jeans program — Recycle denim program at Madewell

And in return, you get a $20 off coupon for a new pair of jeans at Madewell. A nice bonus!

I think this is cool because fashion has a serious impact on the environment. If we can make use of clothing that is no longer wearable, and turn it into something useful, then I’m all for it!

To find a Madewell store to drop off at, see this store locator.