At House to Home Organizing we are always looking for new resources to help our clients declutter and take back control of their space. We spoke to Rachel at Helpsy about clothing recycling.
For the busy person, what is Helpsy?
HELPSY is the easiest and most convenient way for you to recycle your clothes, shoes and accessories. We have over 1700 collection containers in the Northeast US and are starting at home pickup programs in our footprint.
What is the organization's origin story, how did it start?
We started about a year ago and are trying to do things differently. Our name comes from the fact that we recently we merged with a company by the name of HELPSY that was formerly an online retailer for sustainable fashion. We want to educate the public about the environmental importance of recycling clothes, along with working with the fashion industry to get used clothes back into the fashion cycle.
Why is it important to recycle clothing?
85% of our clothes are currently going to landfills when 95% of them can be reused, recycled and upcycled. 10% of landfills are textiles! There are certain frames of mind surrounding clothing end use that we want to change — for instance anything with holes or that's damaged can be given another life, whether they are converted to rags, carpet padding or insulation.
What does it mean to be a host?
You agree to let us keep one of our collection containers on or inside your property. We service it regularly to keep it clean. You do your part to keep clothes out of the trash and it can be a revenue stream for your business or institution.
Can you share some success stories?
We were able to give nearly 13,800 winter jackets to New York Cares this winter for home insecure individuals living in the city. We bought the jackets back from our sorting partners. This is a new way of working within our own industry, creates jobs, and supports our industry partners. It is a more effective and efficient than traditional clothing drives. We hope to do more of this large scale buy-back work to help those who need it.
