Cleaning out your closet has never been easier, thanks to Trashie, whose brightly colored Take Back Bags infuse a dose of happiness to the otherwise mundane chore and let you cash in on unwanted clothing, shoes, sheets, and more.
How do Take Back Bags work?
After you purchase a Take Back Bag for $20, Trashie sends you the bag and gives you $30 of Trashie Cash that you can spend on various rotating deals from companies, including Allbirds, ThirdLove, and AMC Theatres. The company also has several "subscribe and save" options.
Once you receive your bag, load it up. According to the company, one large bag can be stuffed with 15 pounds of clothing. You just need to make sure the items aren't so dirty (like with soil or a biohazardous material) that they'd be impossible to recycle.
And voila! Your closet is decluttered without the need for extensive effort and reorganization. All you need to do is scan the QR code to download your prepaid shipping label, register your bag (this unlocks the Trashie Cash), and then deliver it to any post office in the United States.
Why is the Take Back Bag important?
After we throw old items in the trash, it may be easy to forget about them. However, our waste can have a significant negative impact on our communities and the environment. As many will attest, waste from the fashion sector (some of which contains toxic plastic fibers) doesn't just disappear; it pollutes our waters, beaches, and parks — and can even be deadly.
According to Earth.org, more than 100 million tons of textiles end up in dumps every year, producing planet-warming gases as they break down. Manufacturing practices in the fashion industry also account for more than 20% of water pollution worldwide.
Trashie's Take Back Bag program helps by giving your unwanted clothing a new life. More than two-thirds of items are reused, while 20% are recycled into new products. All in all, the company has prevented 90% of donations from sitting in landfills.
Trashie also notes that each bag prevents around 151 pounds of carbon pollution from entering the lower atmosphere and conserves more than 1,500 gallons of water — equivalent to approximately eight weeks' worth of showers.
"The Take Back Bag makes it so easy to clean out your closet and be environmentally responsible," one user wrote of the program. "Bonus, you earn Closet Cash to buy new stuff from great, ethical brands."
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