An app that allows users to recycle unwanted clothes in exchange for digital coupons at some of the UK’s largest retailers has launched this week.
The digital takeback scheme, designed to drive the fashion industry towards becoming a more circular economy, will allow anyone with the app to ship their unwanted clothing free of charge from more than 20,000 drop off points across the UK.
Regain has partnered with a number of retailers including Missguided, Boohoo, Asics, New Balance and Superdry, all of which will offer discount coupons through the app. Discounts reportedly range between 20 and 25 per cent, and have a minimum of 10 per cent.
The app will only accept one drop per week with a minimum of 10 items per shipment in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint. Clothing will then be reused, recycled, upcycled or used as combustibles for energy production.
“We are realists, not idealists,” founder of Yellow Octopus, which pioneered the app, Jack Ostrowski said.
“We know that we can’t stop people from buying clothes, but we can incentivize 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.
“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.”
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