Reading time: About 6 minutes.
If you’ve ever shared clothes with your sister or best friends, you already know what a clothing swap is. But did you know some companies have started buy-back programs where they swap gift cards and other incentives in exchange for their old styles? Many of these companies take your offerings, make any necessary repairs, and resell them. If something is beyond repair, several companies turn it into something new. At least one of these companies breaks down old clothes into fiber and turns them into new products, using as few materials as possible.
If you tend to shop at any of the stores in this post, take note! And then take your oldies but goodies back to the ones that do the most good so they can work their circular magic and keep your closet out of landfills.
Eileen Fisher ReNew
I’ve been a huge fan of Eileen Fisher for more than ten years. If you’re a fan too, you know about the company’s quality fabrics and effortless style. They’re also known for their eco-friendly practices. They merited a “Good” rating with the sustainability watchdog GoodOnYou, which is high praise indeed. (There is only one rating higher than “Good.”)
If you’ve worn Eileen Fisher, then you also may have seen this on the care tag inside each garment:
Eileen Fisher wants their clothes back so they can provide any repairs needed and put them back into circulation. They don’t want to see their clothes going into landfills or being incinerated. And it doesn’t matter what condition the pieces are in—they’ll make sure even the scrappiest of garments get reused.
A little encouragement from the EF Renew website:
By getting the items that already exist back into use -- instead of sitting idly in closets or, worse, ending up in landfills -- and using them for longer, you are contributing to a new retail model of producing less and advancing the circular economy.
If you have Eileen Fisher items you no longer wear, take them to any US Eileen Fisher store, or if you live near Seattle or Irvington, New York, you can take them to one of the two Renew stores that turn our oldies into someone else’s newbies. You get $5 in Renew Rewards, which you can use at the stores or the Eileen Fisher Renew website.
You can also ship your items directly to the recycling centers in Irvington and Seattle:
50 S. Buckhout St., Irvington, NY 10533
624 S. Lander St. #20, Seattle, WA 98134
You’ll receive a gift card from EF Renew four to six weeks after they receive your items.
To read more about Eileen Fisher’s sustainability mission and efforts, visit their website.
Reformation
I have to admit that it surprised me to learn that the company Reformation has an eye toward sustainability. Every week, they showcase new styles, so I never shopped at their stores or website. I assumed they were fast fashion. Even though they have a Good rating from GoodOnYou, just like Eileen Fisher, it’s still hard for me to believe they are so mindful of the planet and the people on it. And yet:
They are fairly transparent about how they treat the team who make their clothes, many of whom work at the Los Angeles fabrication warehouse.
They have published their sustainability report every year since 2016, and it’s fairly impressive.
They also have a couple of different ways you can swap your old Reformation for what they call “Ref Credit.” They have a deal with ThredUP to keep their brand in circulation, or you can participate in their buy-back program with Supercircle, a company Reformation contracts to break down old clothes into new fibers to make new clothes. For either program, you receive Ref Credit when you send in your things.
And, for what it’s worth to my petite friends, both of these companies have petite offerings. Several things in my closet are from Eileen Fisher Renew. Maybe one day, some pieces from Reformation will find their way into my closet as well. (But I’ll still probably buy them secondhand. It’s so hard for me to buy new these days!)
Fast Fashion Greenwashing?
Similar to Reformation, fast fashion companies such as Tommy Hilfiger, J.Crew, and Athleta have all contracted with ThredUP to create buy-back programs. Unlike Reformation, though, these companies haven’t really made major efforts to improve their sustainability practices, so it feels a little greenwashy. Signing up with ThredUP to keep their clothes in circulation is the easiest and least they can do. GoodOnYou rates these companies’ practices as “It’s a Start” and “Not Good Enough.” Not exactly ratings to boast about. That said, I’m glad they’re doing something.
If you have items from any of these companies, rather than use their buy-back programs, I recommend using consignment, precision donation, selling them yourself, or swapping with others to keep these clothes from dying a landfill death. Of course, you can use their buy-back programs, but know that doing so will keep you looped into buying new from them because they only offer credit to their stores.
Keep On Keepin’ On
How’s the closet clean-out going these days? As I write this, the end-of-year holidays are upon us, so cleaning out your closet may be the furthest thing from your mind. No worries. Tuck this and the other Clean Out articles away for another day. Maybe a New Year goal?
Meanwhile, if you’re planning on going to a New Year’s Eve party or you’re curious about renting your wardrobe, stay tuned! Next week’s article covers it all. If you’re not subscribed already, please do so! If you are already subscribed, Thank You, and stay tuned!
Bonus Content
What I’m Reading
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt: This was my pick for the book-of-the-month in Dickens Chicks, my book club. Pretty much everyone said they went into it skeptical because it involves an octopus that “talks,” but they came away loving all the characters and the story told.
No Cure for Being Human: And Other Truths I Need to Hear by Kate Bowler: At age 35, Kate Bowler learned that her body was wracked with cancer. Doctors gave her two years to live. This is the true story, in her own words, of a survivor who was never supposed to survive.
Gifts of the Crow by John Marzluff and Tony Angell: I’ve been reading this one for a while now. It’s a bit textbooky, so it’s not one I pick up unless I have time to digest it. Still, I love learning anything about crows, and each chapter provides some new story or insight I had never heard before.
What I’m Watching
Nyad on Netflix. If you’re not familiar, Diana Nyad is the swimmer who swam from Cuba to the Florida Keys in 2013 at the age of 64. Her story inspired me back then. The movie brought that inspirational story to the screen. Annette Bening and Jodie Foster are great in this.
Ghosts on Paramount+: This super silly comedy makes me wish I could see ghosts. Maybe. I loved the original British version as well, but was only able to see the first two seasons on (I think) Hulu before they removed it.
Podcasts I’m Listening To
This American Life: Episode 815, How I Learned to Shave. This episode focuses on four stories about how our fathers shape our lives. My favorite act is Act Two: Raised By Wolf.
Handsome hosted by comedians Fortune Feimster, Tig Notaro, and Mae Martin. Silly, sometimes raunchy, listening to the Handsome pod feels like I’m hanging out with a group of my friends telling stories and goofing off. I listen to this when I need something a little less heady and a lot more fun.
What’s on your read, watch, podcast lists?