Patagonia Rethread: Creating a Retail Recycling Program for Post-Consumer Clothing

For the last few decades, clothing consumption throughout the world has increased. This acceleration has led to an increase in the amount of textile waste produced. Lured by low-priced clothing, the average consumer chooses to support apparel companies whose bottom line is profit over the planet. This equates to environmental damage caused by the apparel industry. This damage is running parallel with demand and increasing every year. To exact swift change, government regulations must be enacted to restrict the pollution caused by the apparel industry. However, with supply chains spanning multiple countries, most clothing retailers operate outside the United States strict environmental protection laws. While institutional change is on the far horizon, consumers can enact immediate change in their daily lives. While the manufacturing of clothing is detrimental to our planet, clothing waste is another mountainous problem. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americas throw away more than 68 lbs. of clothing every year into landfills (Ekstrom and Salomonson, 2014). To combat this problem, non-profits such as Soles4Soles and Goodwill have become local community centers for disposing of unwanted clothing. Additionally, local and national governments have banned clothing waste. Even though consumers are aware of the environmental issues humanity is faced with, municipal solid waste continues to rise in the United States (Joung and Park-Poaps, 2011). This paper examines the harm caused by the apparel and textile industry. It highlights common practices and resources used to manufacture clothing. Most importantly, it looks at the environmental consequences. By examining data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, one can clearly see the damaging effects increase clothing consumption caused by trends like fast fashion. This paper examines these issues through the lens of Regenerative Studies. By applying a regenerative lens to clothing waste a solution can be proposed. Working alongside the outdoor apparel retailer, Patagonia, this paper provides the outline for a new clothing recycling program called Patagonia Rethread. This program will operate in two Patagonia stores in Los Angeles County. The goal of this program is to recycle or redistribute post-consumed clothing. Recycling and redistributing clothing not only decreases the volume in landfills, but reduces the need for raw materials such as fiber, chemical dyes, and water (Joung and Park-Poaps, 2011). The program can help inform retail customers of the environmental impact their clothing has and to provide the Pasadena and Santa Monica community with a center for clothing recycling. This paper focuses on how Patagonia Rethread will operate, marketing, operational costs, transportation, and the project's feasibility to succeed.