Parade—a two-year startup company, is launching a recycling campaign for a piece of clothing no one has ever thought of recycling—old underwear.
The program, fittingly dubbed Second Life, is created with the partnership of the recycling company TerraCycle to process any type of old underwear, regardless of the brand and materials used.
Second Life will constitute a crucial eco-friendly action since an estimated 150 billion pairs of underwear (most of which contain nylon) are thrown out globally every year. This translates into about 11 million pounds per day, which contributes significantly to the 2.12 billion tons of waste the world produces each year.
According to the campaign initiators, used underwear can be recycled into an array of new products, from bedding and housing insulation to upholstery!
So, how will this actually be done?
The process is simple. People just need to order their free shipping, put their clean old underwear in the biodegradable bag they’ll receive, and send it to TerraCycle. Once done, you will also get a 20% discount on all Parade products.
This unique idea has the potential to become a national underwear recycling program, according to Cami Téllez, the founder and CEO of Parade.
However, the end goal isn’t just recycling underwear into other kinds of products, but also into underwear. This way, the New Jersey brand plans to close the loop and boost the sustainability of this industry.
Currently, many business entities are aiming at the clothing-to-clothing recycling chain, but none have come up with the ultimate solution. Parade sets an example by making underwear out of the nylon residue from clothing factories.
