Penneys launches new clothes takeback scheme across all Irish stores

With the catchy slogan of "When in doubt, don't throw it out" Penneys have launched an innovative new clothes takeback scheme across all of its 36 Irish stores, including the Penneys outlets in the Golden Island Shopping Centre in Athlone and the Fair Green Shopping Centre in Mullingar.

Designated takeback boxes have now been installed in all Penneys stores, accepting clothes, footwear, bags and textiles such as towels and bedsheets, from any brand and in any condition. All donations will either be resold, recycled or re-imagined.

The Penneys Textile Takeback Scheme aims to encourage customers to recycle pre-loved clothes responsibly as new research shows 79% of peope are more likely to donate pre-loved clothes if they could bring them to a store. Surprisingly, the research also found that almost a quarter of Irish consumers (23%) are still unaware clothing and footwear can be recycled in the first place!

Penneys decided to launch their clothing takeback scheme in order to make it more convenient for people to donate their pre-loved clothes and textiles and help give them a second life. This launches as new research into Irish consumers’ recycling behaviour found that a lack of drop off locations is a barrier, with the vast majority more likely to recycle clothing and footwear if they could do so in a store.

New research published by Penneys and conducted by RED C Research & Marketing, found that a lack of drop off locations for pre-loved clothing is a barrier to donations, with the vast majority of people saying they would be more likely to recycle clothing and footwear if they could do so in a local store.

The research also found that Irish consumers are still unsure about the do’s and dont's of recycling, with almost a quarter (23%) unaware that clothing and footwear can be recycled at all. In addition, over half (51%) admitted they throw out old clothes that can’t be re-worn, while 91% of people said they do recycle clothing and footwear that can be re-worn.

Damien O’Neill, Head of Sales at Penneys, described the new Scheme as a " bold new ambition to become a circular and more sustainable business" and said it would make it easier for consumers to donate or recycle their pre-loved clothes.

"We want to help educate our customers and bring them on this journey with this and part of this is understanding what they think today about recycling old clothes. While it was very encouraging to see how many people already donate their pre-loved clothes and footwear, we’ve learned that there is still more to do to help educate customers about what can be recycled and where" he said.

Mr. O'Neill said the the Textile Takeback Scheme is part of the fashion chain's goal "to help people make more sustainable choices and to recycle or donate with convenience." This also includes a commitment to " reducing fashion waste, alongside our commitment that all our clothes will be made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030 and how we are working to give our clothes a longer life are all important parts of how we are becoming a more circular business" he said.

Penneys have partnered with Yellow Octopus, a leading recycling specialist, for their Textile Takeback Scheme. Yellow Octopus has a ‘no landfill’ policy across the 21 countries it operates in, diverting around one million garments from landfill every month. It aims for as many donations as possible to be worn again, with the remainder being repurposed into new products such as insulation, toy stuffing and mattress fillers.

Jack Ostrowski, CEO of Yellow Octopus Group, said “we are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Penneys and assist in its effort to drive down textile waste and divert fashion goods from going to landfill. It is important for the entire fashion industry to transition from a linear to circular business model. As with every journey, it has to start somewhere, and this Takeback is the very beginning of circularity in fashion. ”

The Textile Takeback scheme follows the launch of retailer’s new sustainability strategy “Primark Cares” last month as the business outlined its commitments to becoming a more sustainable and circular business. As part of this, Primark will be improving the durability of its own products and as a signatory of Textiles 2030, will be working with sustainability charity WRAP and other retailers to develop new clothing durability guidelines to collectively move the fashion industry towards a more circular economy and in turn reduce fashion waste.

All profits from the scheme will go to UNICEF, one of Primark’s global charity partners.