How Closed Loop Systems Keep Unwanted Clothing From Landfills

The clothing industry has a big impact on the environment. Synthetic materials take a long time to decompose once they end up in landfills. For example, nylon takes 30 to 40 years to decompose. In 2012, an estimated 14.3 million tons of textiles were generated that made up 5.7 percent of the total municipal solid waste. One way for companies to prevent unwanted clothing from ending up in landfills is to create a closed loop system.   The recently announced partnership between Overstock.com and Give Back Box is one example of a closed loop system. Overstock.com is partnering with Give Back Box to allow customers an easy way to donate their used clothing. Customers who buy clothing items on Overstock.com will find a pre-paid shopping label included in each box which allows them to re-use the box the clothing came in to ship unwanted clothing directly to Goodwill. 

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Image Credit: Alan Stanton

Gina-Marie Cheeseman is a central California-based journalist who writes about sustainability, environmental issues, and healthy living. With a degree in journalism and a passion for social responsibility, she writes for a number of online publications. She believes that collaboration between the public and private sectors can help solve many problems facing the planet and its people. Mashable.com named Cheeseman as one of the “75 Environmentalists to Follow on Twitter.”