Where to Recycle Your Yoga Pants and Other Gear
About 85% of US textiles end up in a landfill
Image: Izzy71, Adobe Stock
Most activewear is made with nylon, lycra and spandex. These fabrics make clothes stretchy, and durable, which is ideal for yoga and other sports. Unfortunately, these materials are also problematic for the environment. Not only are some of these materials resource intensive to create, they also break down into tiny pieces called microplastics that impact ecosystems and potentially human health. They also take from 20 to over 500 years to decompose.
Once you’re finished with your worn yoga pants, what happens to them? Maybe you resell online, or maybe you take them to your nearest Goodwill, but the truth of the matter is that about 85 percent of US textiles end up in a landfill.
There are a few things you can do to keep your clothes from becoming waste:
Buy durable gear that you won’t have to replace for decades.
Repair your gear before you throw it away.
Buy used and sell or swap your clothes when you are finished.
Take or send your gear to a program that recycles textiles. Many of these programs either upcycle the materials into new clothes or products or ensure that they find a second home that is not a landfill in other ways.
Here are a few recycling programs where you can take your old gear and feel pretty good that they’ll have a second life.
Where to recycle your activewear
Retold
Send your old gear (in any condition) to Retold where they will keep it out of the landfill and sort to be sent to charity or recycled. Retold accepts most clothing and textiles in any condition and offers a one-time clean out bag or subscriptions for continuous cleanouts.
Ridwell
You can recycle your old clothes through periodic pick ups with a Ridwell membership. Ridwell also picks up items such as batteries and plastic film. Ridwell is currently only available in select cities.
For Days
For Days will take your old clothing, any brand or condition, and recycle them for a $20 fee (you get $20 credit back to shop in their store).
The Second Cut
Smartwool will recycle your old, clean socks of any brand or material into new products.
Soles4Souls
Drop off your gently used shoes at retail locations all over the United States to be redistributed to people in need.
Rab
Rab has a down recycling program (jackets, sleeping bags etc.). Right now it is only in the U.K., but it might be worth contacting them and asking them to bring it to their other locations.
Green Guru
Green Guru can help you turn your old bike inner tubes, climbing ropes, wetsuits, and event tents into bags.
Knickey
Send your old underwear and other intimates to Knickey, an organic cotton underwear brand for recycling.
Regirlfriend
Girlfriend, a brand that makes super comfy leggings and other activewear out of recycled plastic (don’t forget your Guppyfriend!), will allow you to send in your old Girlfriend products (one at a time) to be recycled into new Girlfriend products.
Patagonia
Patagonia will accept Patagonia products that can no longer be repaired or reused to recycle or repurpose them, keeping them out of the landfill.
Clothes the Loop
The North Face allows you to bring in your old clothes and footwear to be sent to Soles4Souls for reuse and recycling.
Managing your individual textile waste can feel daunting, these companies are making it easier to keep your old gear out of the landfill.
