Fashions' Guide to Easily Upcycling and Recycling Clothes

It's natural to part with pieces of your wardrobe as your tastes and circumstances evolve. Even the most conscious shoppers do. But what really can make the difference is what you do with the clothes and accessories you're getting rid of.

As recent as several years ago, it was difficult to navigate fashion's resale and recycling resources, especially for pieces in good condition. Luckily, in 2024, sustainable brands are investing in these programs and expanding their reach—offering recycling, resale, and trade-in options online and throughout their brick-and-mortar stores while educating consumers about where and how to recycle fashion. Most of them are easy to partake in with a quick shop visit or the click of a few buttons.

If you're wondering why brands are investing in programs that can offer clothing a second or even third life, just look at some of the facts— according to 2023 statistics from Earth.org—the average US consumer throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes yearly.

The brands on this list, vetted by Marie Claire editors, offer palatable sustainable practices to help combat that shocking figure. While many of them offer straightforward recycling and resale options, others are innovating with incentives. Responsible basics brand For Days offers shopping credits in exchange for pre-loved clothes, while timepiece company Citizen Watches will take your old watch batteries off your hands and turn them into works of art. Others, like contemporary designer Ulla Johnson and tote bag maven Mansur Gavriel, are offering peer-to-peer re-sale platforms to help people connect directly with fellow fans of the brands.

Keep reading for fashion's best recycling and re-selling programs to start using.

Coach (Re)Loved

Coach's leather bags are made to last, but when updates, repairs, or replacements are necessary, Coach's (Re)Loved program lets you trade your bag in at any North American location for credit, pending approval. If your bag qualifies, you'll receive a credit to your account in an amount between $10 and $200, which can be used towards a coach bag at any US outpost.

Trade in with Coach Re(Loved)

Mansur Gavriel's MG FOREVER

Mansur Gavriel, a.k.a. the bag Katie Holmes can't stop wearing, has a peer-to-peer resale platform called "MG Forever." Make or log into your account, select the bag you'd like to sell from your order history, list photos, and provide a price, and your bag will upload to the site's platform for other Mansur Gavriel lovers. If you're purchasing a bag through the site, you'll receive it quickly since the brand asks sellers to ship items within three days of the sale.

Re-Sell with MG FOREVER

Citizen Watches

Citizen prevents hundreds of thousands of watch batteries from entering landfills each year. This is thanks, in part, to their Eco-Drive range, which uses the charging power of any light in place of traditional watch batteries.

Recycle with Citizen Watches

J.Crew Always

J.Crew not only has a dedicated vintage section on its website, but the brand also has a resale platform called "J.Crew Always" in partnership with ThredUP. All you have to do is fill one of ThredUP's clean-out kits with gently used women's and kids' pieces, and you'll receive store credit that you can use to shop the site's new collections.

Trade in with J.Crew Always

Madewell Do Well Recycle

If you own a pair of jeans you no longer want, consider trading them in with Madewell's "Do Well" recycling program. Bring your used jeans (even if they're not from Madewell) into any Madewell store, and they'll either resell them or recycle them into fiber that can be used as housing insulation. On top of that, you'll get $20 off towards your next jeans purchase.

Trade in with Madewell Do Well

Hand Me Dôen

Dôen, the floaty dress brand beloved by Sofia Richie Grainge, has its own recycling program cleverly called "Hand Me Dôen." After you answer a few questions about the quality of the piece you wish to sell, the brand will send you a pre-paid shipping label to send in your piece. Once approved, you'll receive a store credit via a Dôen digital gift card.

Re-sell with Hand Me Dôen

RE.UNIQLO

UNIQLO's RE.UNIQLO program collects pieces from the brand (and its sister brand, GU) using in-store donation boxes set up at every location. The pieces are then sorted into items that can be reused, while others are recycled and made into new products or fabric. Clothes with second or third-life potential are sent as clothing aid to refugee camps and disaster areas in partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency, NGOs, and NPOs.

Reuse or recycle with RE.UNIQLO

ThredUP

Since launching in 2009, ThredUP has championed the sustainable fashion movement, providing a resale platform for tens of thousands of brands across 100 categories at varying price points. Their three-step process makes cleaning your closet easier than ever. Order your clean-out kit, fill it with your unwanted pieces, and mail it in for ThredUP credit or cash.

Consign with ThredUP

For Days

Fill up For Days' "Take Back Bag" with clothing and linens from any brand, style, or fabric, ship it back, and the brand will take care of recycling the rest. You'll also receive a $30 credit to use on the site when you register your bag through its unique QR code.

Recycle with For Days

ReGirlfriend

Girlfriend Collective has always been committed to sustainability—their core fabrics include a combination of recycled polyester, cotton industry byproducts, and nylon, so it was a natural next step to launch a recycling program that would allow them to reuse, reduce, and recycle pre-loved clothing from their own designs. To partake in the program, mail your old Girlfriend Collective pieces back to the brand. They'll recycle them into new gear and give you credits towards new Girlfriend Collective items.

Recycle with ReGirlfriend

Full Circle By Mara Hoffman

Mara Hoffman's Full Circle program marks another step towards the brand's closed-loop business model. Their peer-to-peer marketplace allows customers to buy and sell pre-loved items at a lower price point.

Resell with Full Circle By Mara Hoffman

Subset

Most clothing donation centers don't accept socks and underwear and are often thrown into landfills. Organic cotton intimates brand Subset decided to change that by creating an innovative recycling program that accepts both. Ship them with a pre-paid label and you'll get up to $25 off your next order.

Recycle with Subset

Another Tomorrow

Another Tomorrow's authenticated resale platform is a seamless way to keep the brand's timeless, modern pieces in circulation. Just scan the QR code on the label, choose cash payment or store credit, ship it to their store, and get paid once it sells!

Resell with Another Tomorrow

Lean Closet By Cuyana

Cuyana's in-house resale program, Cuyana Revive, allows customers to buy and sell pre-loved Cuyana pieces using Archive's peer-to-peer resale technology. Beyond its internal resale platform, the brand has partnered with ThredUP to continue to give pre-loved products new homes.

Resell with Cuyana Lean Closet

EILEEN FISHER Renew

Since 2009, Eileen Fisher has taken back over two million pieces of their own clothing to resell, donate, or repurpose them into new items. Eileen Fisher fans can also purchase pre-loved, high-quality wardrobe staples on the site's Renew page.

Resell with Eileen Fisher Renew

Net-a-Porter x Reflaunt

In partnership with Reflaunt, Net-a-Porter has established a marketplace for designer pieces, including ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, and accessories purchased from the site and other retailers. The in-house team will conveniently list the items for you and offer cash or a Net-a-Porter store credit with an extra 10% off new purchases.

Resell with NET-A-PORTER X Reflaunt

Boyish

The consignment shop from Boyish's sustainable denim brand offers customers a peer-to-peer resale program that offers sellers credits towards new pieces from the brand. A great way to refresh your jeans collection.

Resell with Boyish

Vestiaire Collective

Vestaire Collective's digitally native luxury resale platform is ideal for reselling designer pieces, both pre-loved and gently worn. Upload images, product details, and desired pricing for your items, and let the app, which is accessible across several different countries, do the rest.

Consign with Vestaire Collective

Worn Wear by Patagonia

Patagonia's circular marketplace, Worn Wear, accepts pre-loved Patagonia gear in good, wearable condition and helps extend its life through repair or resale. The brand explains that keeping a Patagonia product in use for just nine extra months reduces the company's combined carbon, water, and waste footprint by 20 to 30 percent. In an effort to help get your pieces to them, Patagonia will cover the shipping costs and reward you with store credit.

Recycle with Worn Wear by Patagonia