Shopping for new clothing can be fun, but it can also be costly. Plus, constantly buying new clothes isn’t exactly sustainable—for your wallet or the planet. Fortunately, plenty of options exist where you can donate or send in old clothes and receive something—discounts or even cash—in return. Here’s the scoop on a few options.
Madewell , beloved for their jeans, offers a recycling program for your old denim. It’s also pretty simple. Just pop into one of their store locations with jeans that you no longer wear. The company partners with Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green to transform the jeans into insulation for people in need. Madewell then gives you $20 off a pair of their jeans.
Marine Layer is a clothing retailer that recycles old t-shirts through their Re-Spun program. You can drop off t-shirts at one of their locations or you can ask for a free mailing kit. They recycle the tees into yarn and even make new t-shirts with the recycled material. For every shirt you recycle with them, they give you a $5 credit to spend on new clothing. They do have a cap of $25, or five tees.
If you want a bit more value for your clothing, you may want to consider selling it on Tradesy . You choose the clothing you want to get rid of, then select what price you want for it. The company lets you pick how you want to ship the clothes to the buyer. They even process and pay for return shipping if someone returns your items. Tradesy takes commission from each sale, which ranges from $7.50 for items under $50 to 19.8% commission on higher ticket items.
If a consignment option like Tradesy sounds too time consuming, check out ThredUp for a more hands-off option. Essentially, you request a kit from ThredUp and fill it up with clothes you no longer want. They do need to be in good condition, of course. Send the clothing to the company using their included shipping label and they’ll keep track of what sells. You can earn cash or choose shopping credits to spend with ThredUp. You don’t get to choose the sale price, but you also don’t have to do all the work of selling either.
Poshmark calls themselves a “social marketplace.” Not only can you sell clothing here, but you can also build up a network or community. Users can go to “virtual shopping parties” and look through other sellers’ available clothing. If you want to sell something, just take a photo of it and create a listing on their site. You choose the price with Poshmark and you get cash for your sales. They give you a pre-paid shipping label to send off your clothing when someone buys it.
Got some high-end labels in your closet? Then you’ll want to take a look at The RealReal . They specialize in luxury goods—think Luis Vuitton or Gucci. You choose whether you want to ship your clothes to them, drop them off, or have the company pick them up for you. They price your items and give you a commission of up to 85% when they sell. You get your proceeds through direct deposit, check, or a site credit which gives you an extra 5%. Their website claims that most things get sold within 30 days.
Swap.com is an online thrift and consignment store. They partner with people looking to sell used clothing in good condition. New sellers need to sign up, then ship the items they want to sell to the company. Their team examines the clothing to make sure it’s up their standards. If it is, they accept your shipment and they do all the work of creating the listing for potential buyers to browse. When something sells, you earn a commission that varies based on the item’s price—anywhere from 15-70%. You choose whether you want a store credit, which boosts how much commission you get, or cash through PayPal.
Selling clothing with LePrix is a little more exclusive than some others, but it may be worth it for those with plenty of luxury items to sell. They partner with Boutiques and encourage anyone interested in selling to consign with their Boutique Partners. However, for those who aren’t located near a Boutique Partner, LePrix does offer the option to contact them for individual consignment options . They send out a pre-paid shipping label for those interested in consigning clothing.
Style Encore has more than 1,250 stores and sells gently used clothing online. If you’re interested in selling your old clothes, you’ll need to pop into a store with whatever you want to sell. The Style Encore team will set a price for your pieces based on their particular store’s inventory and history. They make you an offer and if you accept it, you get to take cash home that day. There’s no hassle of selling your own items here—just bring them in and go home with cash.
Kids outgrow clothes pretty quickly, so Once Upon a Child is an excellent option for getting rid of gently used children’s clothes. They’re in the same family of brands as Style Encore, so the process is pretty similar. You bring in clothing or even toys and their team checks everything over to make sure they’re up to quality standards. They pay you cash that same day.
You can always donate your clothing, but sometimes it’s nice to make a little cash from selling your clothes. These are some great options to start with since these companies take a variety of clothing and offer up multiple ways for you to shed your old items. Some offer a flat amount, some let you pick your pricing, and others set commissions on an individual basis. With such a variety of brands offering store credits, discounts, and even cash for clothes—it’s a great time to clean out your closet.
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