A new app has launched in the UK to make it easier for consumers to recycle their unwanted clothes and divert tonnes of unwanted textiles from going to landfill.
Called Regain, the app aims to encourage recycling by offering app users discount coupons for fashion brands including Superdry, Asics, New Balance, boohoo and Missguided, or experiences with Expedia, Hotels.com, EVE Sleep and BodyBuilding.com.
The app asks users to ship their old clothes, shoes and accessories to Regain in a cardboard box. The shipments are free of charge from over 20,000 drop-off points across the UK, and I order to keep the carbon footprint to a minimum, only one drop per week is allowed per customer, with a minimum of 10 items in each shipment.
Once the clothes reach the Regain app, they are either reused and reworn, recycled, upcycled, or used as combustibles for energy production.
“We are realists, not idealists. We know that we can’t stop people from buying clothes, but we can incentivise them to change their habits and divert hundreds of tonnes of clothing from UK landfill. Our long-term goal is a world in which clothes never become waste,” says Jack Ostrowski, who founded Yellow Octopus, the company behind the Regain app.
“The Regain app turns commercial sustainability into action and provides a modern solution for fast fashion lovers by rewarding sustainable behaviour. Stopping clothes from going to landfill is the first step towards a circular economy.”
BUILDING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
The app launch builds on research that shows that 10% of consumers still throw unloved items of clothing in the bin, despite growing awareness of the importance of recycling. The proportion rises to 27% in London, and 73% of consumers admitted they no longer wear up to half the items they own.
Those items that fall out of favour contribute to 300,000 tonnes of unwanted clothing going to landfill in the UK every year; the equivalent of 50 trucks’ worth of clothing per day.
“The Regain app provides consumers with a three-fold ‘Do Good’ scheme: firstly, to do good for their living space through decluttering; secondly, to do good for their wallet, by receiving coupons and shopping for less; and thirdly, doing good for the planet, by diverting clothing from UK landfill,” Ostrowski continues.
“With 49% of people we surveyed planning to do a spring clean of unwanted clothing this month, we hope many of them will consider using Regain app to prevent these items from becoming waste.”
The app works on Android and iOS devices, and is available for free download.
