Your old towels can get a second life: Parachute’s new take-back program aims to accelerate fabric recycling

If you keep towels until they’re threadbare, or if your sheets are covered in stains, you may think the only place to put them is in the trash. But now you can keep those textiles out of the landfill and give them a second life through a new recycling program at Parachute.



Take-back programs for fabrics have been booming. Brands from Patagonia to Madewell to J. Crew have launched initiatives that allow customers to send in their old jeans , swimsuits, socks , and more to be recycled into something new. 



Now Parachute is launching its own take-back program for sheets, towels, pillows, and robes from any brand, in any condition (though it asks that you please launder them first) at its stores across the country. The program marks the first time that SuperCircle, a recycling management company that partners with brands on such efforts, is helping recycle home textiles. 



[Photo: Parachute]



Parachute founder Ariel Kaye says circularity has been top of mind for the company for years. “One of the things that we are very aware of is that there is a lot of waste that comes from the textile world, and we want to be part of the solution.” According to one estimate , 39 million pounds of textiles such as clothing, sheets, and towels are sent to landfills every year. The U.S. recycles just about 15% of textiles. 



While clothing waste and recycling have received more attention recently, people may not know what to do with their ratty towels or past-their-prime pillows. There isn’t the same market for reselling towels or donating used sheets as there is for clothes. (It’s worth noting that many shelters do, however, accept towel donations.) Initially Parachute didn’t know what to do with these items either. After years of searching for a partner, Kaye says, the brand came across SuperCircle, which takes in and sorts materials by fabric type and then sends them off to one of its 31 recycling partners. 



“Recyclers are actually highly specialized,” says SuperCircle cofounder and CEO Chloe Songer. “Some cotton recyclers will only take white cotton, some cotton recyclers will take light cotton and dark cotton. Some recyclers will take 100% cotton. Some will take 50-50 cotton. And then you need a different recycler for polyester, a different recycler for nylon, a different recycler for linen, a different recycler for wool.” SuperCircle has already launched take-back programs with J. Crew, Reformation, Uniqlo, and others.



Parachute has products that are 100% cotton or linen, making them easier to recycle. Before launching the take-back program for the public, Parachute had already been working with SuperCircle for a year to manage its own waste, including damaged returns and excess inventory. Together, the companies say, they have diverted 26,648 pounds of textile waste from landfills and saved 12,924 pounds of CO2 emissions.



[Photo: Parachute]



Those products are either fiber-to-fiber recycled, which allows the fibers to be turned into new fabrics and customer products; or downcycled, which means they become insulation, furniture padding, carpet matting, and so on. SuperCircle specifically does not downcycle fibers into things like rags or other items that may end up in landfills within months. “We only work on projects that will last longer than two years,” Songer says. Many sheets and towels are 100% linen or cotton, and so are considered a “high value” recycled item that can easily be turned into textiles. 



Textile recycling is mandated in the European Union but has yet to become a requirement in the U.S.—though some states, including California and New York , are considering such legislation. In the meantime, Songer says brands like Parachute “are stepping up and building this into their business model now, and figuring out how to make it work economically.”



Items recycled through the customer take-back program will either be fiber-to-fiber recycled or downcycled, depending on their material. Parachute also aims to upcycle material into new products. At a New York City event launching the program, Parachute will have bucket hats made of old quilts, for example. “The goal would be to look at how we can use our own products and make products that would be desirable to the customer, whether it’s a quilted tote bag or actually becoming bedding once again,” Kaye says.



[Photo: Parachute]



To participate in the take-back program, customers start on Parachute’s website, identifying the items they want to turn in. They get a QR code, and then can drop off the textiles at one of Parachute’s 26 locations . Parachute will ship the items to SuperCircle, where the textiles will be sorted and, once enough material is collected, sent off to the recycling facilities. (SuperCircle ships 40,000 pounds of material at a time to its recyclers.) Customers who send in items will get a 15% discount code toward their next Parachute purchase. The program begins in New York City stores June 7, and will roll out nationwide throughout July.