Top Brands with Circular Take-Back and Recycling Programs

Levi's offers a robust circular ecosystem through its SecondHand resale platform and Levi's Tailor repair services. Customers can buy certified pre-loved denim or get repairs, while also recycling worn jeans through specialized drop-off points to ensure materials are reintroduced into production cycles.

Patagonia’s Worn Wear initiative is a gold standard in circular fashion, offering repair, resale, and recycling services. Users can trade in used gear for credit, buy quality secondhand items, or recycle damaged products into new materials, significantly extending the lifespan of outdoor apparel.

Eileen Fisher’s Renew program takes back gently used or damaged garments in any condition for resale or recycling. The brand upcycles irreparable items into new textiles and accessories, while the resale platform allows customers to buy certified pre-owned pieces, minimizing waste and encouraging mindful consumption.

For Days operates a closed-loop system where customers send back old clothes from any brand in exchange for membership credits. These items are sorted for resale, repair, or recycling into new yarns, ensuring that textiles do not end up in landfills and promoting a true circular economy model.

Mud Jeans pioneered the 'Lease A Jeans' model, allowing customers to return worn denim after a year. The brand then repairs, recycles, or resells the material, keeping leather and cotton within the production loop. This service reduces the environmental footprint of denim production by maximizing resource efficiency.

Reformation’s Refind program facilitates the resale of gently used clothing from major brands, including Reformation itself. By partnering with professional resellers, the brand extends garment lifecycles and provides customers with a convenient way to buy or sell pre-loved items, reducing the demand for new resource extraction.

Nike Grind recycles manufacturing scrap, end-of-life shoes, and apparel into high-performance materials for new products and sports surfaces. Customers can drop off used footwear at Nike stores or through the Nike app, ensuring that rubber, foam, and textiles are repurposed rather than discarded.

H&M’s Garment Collecting program accepts worn textiles from any brand in any condition for recycling. Items are sorted for reuse, recycling into new fibers, or industrial applications. This large-scale initiative aims to divert waste from landfills and promote the collection of materials for closed-loop manufacturing.

Decathlon accepts used sports equipment and textiles through its Recycled program for refurbishment or material recovery. The brand focuses on extending product lifespans through repair and recycling initiatives, ensuring that sports gear is processed responsibly at the end of its life cycle.

While primarily focused on transparent supply chains, Everlane incorporates recycled materials and encourages mindful consumption through its ReNew line. The brand continuously improves its recycling processes, turning post-consumer waste into durable outerwear and reducing reliance on virgin synthetic materials.

Pact accepts worn organic cotton apparel through its recycling initiative, partnering with specialized textile recyclers. Customers can send back old clothes to be broken down into fibers for new products, supporting the use of organic materials and reducing the environmental impact of conventional cotton farming.

Girlfriend Collective accepts old activewear, even from other brands, to be recycled into new leggings and tops. The company ensures that discarded garments are processed into plastic pellets, which are then extruded into new yarns, creating a closed-loop system that reduces plastic waste in oceans and landfills.

Tentree partners with TerraCycle to offer a zero-waste recycling program for its apparel and accessories. Customers can send back old items to be recycled into new products, with every item returned contributing to tree planting efforts, thus combining circular fashion with reforestation impact.

Allbirds offers a return program for used shoes, which are then either resold, repaired, or recycled into new materials. The brand uses these returned items to create new footwear components, demonstrating a commitment to circularity by keeping materials in use and out of the waste stream.

Outerknown integrates recycled materials into its collections and supports take-back initiatives through partnerships with textile recyclers. The brand focuses on durable, timeless designs that can be repurposed, ensuring that end-of-life garments contribute to the supply of recycled fibers for future production.

Stella McCartney collaborates with recycling technologies to incorporate regenerated materials into its luxury collections. While less focused on consumer take-back, the brand invests in R&D for circular fabrics and encourages responsible care of garments to extend their lifespan and reduce overall waste.

Levi's Wellthread collection focuses on designing products for durability, repairability, and recyclability from the outset. By prioritizing mono-materials and modular design, these items are easier to disassemble and recycle at the end of their life, supporting a more sustainable circular fashion system.

Beyond resale, Eileen Fisher transforms damaged garments into new art pieces and design collections through its Renew program. This upcycling initiative ensures that even unsellable items are valued and creatively repurposed, showcasing the potential for waste to become high-fashion art.

Adidas creates footwear and apparel from upcycled plastic waste intercepted from beaches and coastal communities. While primarily a material innovation, the brand encourages responsible disposal and recycling of these products, aiming to keep plastic out of oceans and into new fashion items.

The North Face Renewed sells inspected, repaired, and cleaned used gear at a discounted price. This program extends the life of durable outdoor clothing, reduces the need for new production, and provides customers with access to high-quality items while minimizing environmental impact.