Yes, we know you’d recycle anyway, but here are some store that offer a little extra incentive for doing so…
I don’t know about you, but learning about brands offering more to help the planet keeps me as a customer. Here are just a few other schemes and incentives… (I don’t necessarily do all of these, but it’s good to be in the know, don’t you think?)
L’Occitane offers a 10% discount in store if you drop off any of your empty bathroom products (from any brand) to be recycled. Most of us are not quite sure how to recycle beauty containers correctly anyway (look up TerraCycle if you want advice), so it’s win-win.
H&M offer a £5 voucher (off a £25 spend) instore when you drop off a bag of old clothes from any brand in any condition and & Other Stories offers a 10% discount code to spend instore. I find it useful for items like old pyjamas that no longer fit which are harder to pass/sell on, tired socks and towels with holes in etc. They get given a new lease of life via toy stuffing, shoe innersoles etc.
& Other Stories also offer a 10% discount when you return any of their used beauty products.
Pret offers 50p off your coffee when you use a reusable cup, while Starbucks offer 25p off and Paul has just upped their discount from 25p to 50p off your coffee (and sales of reusable cups have soared because of this – yay!). I would also recommend going to your local coffee shops too, as most independent retailers offer discounts for bringing your own cup (ours at Hot Milk, Bounds Green, do!).
Kiehl’s has a reward scheme where you get a stamp every time you use a reusable bag or return a used product. After 10 stamps you get a free travel-sized product.
Monki accepts clothing in any condition – even odd socks with holes in! Drop off a bag in store for a 10% voucher.
MAC offers a free lipstick if you take six used items into store with their ‘Back to Mac’ scheme, I have done this for years, my family even give me their empties too, so I can treat myself.
Hunter wellies’ new Reboot scheme, in association with recycling company First Mile, allows customers to return their old Hunters to the Regent Street store in return for a 15% discount off their next purchase. Any old boots will be recycled and turned into playgrounds and roads.
Lush gives a free fresh face mask when you return 5 of its clean black pots.
A government incentive gives vouchers to those using reusable cloth nappies for their babies, which is so helpful when one nappy can cost around £15. Check out FillYourPants.com to find out what your local council offers (we were eligible for £54.15 towards costs, which really helped).
Most stores are working on their sustainable policies, so it’s always worth asking in your favourites what they’re doing to help.
This copy has been taken from my e-book, offering an insights into how we spend money and try to balance work/life/reality in today’s spend spend economy. You can purchase this downloadable pdf here.
H&M is a great one, they always get my beyond-stretched jeans and stained old stuff! then charity shops get all the gems- its a win win!
Yes, sometimes we have stuff that’s beyond repair and it’s good to have somewhere to take it x
I’m having a massive clear-out and regularly take donations to charity shops. Any items of clothing, bedding etc which are clean but have holes, are ‘tired’ or otherwise unsuitable for resale I put in a separate bag, labelled ‘rags’, and take with my other donations. The ‘rags’ are added to all the textile items the charity is unable to sell in the shop but which they can sell to textile recycling companies. I don’t get a voucher or money off, but I can walk to the charity shop rather than travel to a store in another town. By the way, as a long-time admirer of your blog, Instagram, etc, I have been finding them even more informative and inspiring of late 💕
Yes, this is wonderful xx
This is such a great bit of information! Thanks for rounding it up for a quick read during breakfast! X
This is such a great article! Lots of these are places I frequent anyway, so it is great to have that information. Thank you so much for compiling in one place! Love the blog!
Do these places say what they do with what you return? Hopefully recycle responsibly, I’m not adverse to a discount, but I do wonder if it’s just a way to get people to buy more than they would otherwise.
Sure, I wouldn’t recommend people doing this to buy more, but if it’s somewhere they were thinking of buying from anyway, it helps (plus I often recycle places without the discount, but good to know they accept it!) x
Recycling should be promoted selflessly, why do we need to pay out for recycling, it is our duty to clean our environment for better sustainability.
Completely agree, but sadly incentives seem to be the biggest drive for a lot of people, and it’s useful to know. For instance, if I’m in town, I know I can drop off used beauty products in L’Occitane, even if I don’t need a discount voucher x
Sweaty Betty let you take back any branded gym leggings for them to recycle and they give you a voucher for £10 off your next SB purchase, which I find handy as I never know what to do with old gym kits.
Yes, brilliant – I’ve also just been learning about the free classes they’re offering in Kings Cross! x
I came here to sat exactly the same thing! Additionally, every Sweaty Betty store hosts free work out classes at least once a week. They are all about empowering woman to work out and feel great so money for classes shouldn’t be an obstacle!!
You can also hand in used Nudie jeans for a 20% discount on the new pair. They also repair their jeans for free!
Monsoon offers £10 off a £50 spend when you return and old Monsoon garment which the recycle/ send to charity.
Hello, did you watch The Patriot Act on Netflix about fast fashion?
It talks about what happens to the clothes once they have been donated.
Thank you
No, I haven’t! Will do – is it good or is it scary? x
It’s a bit scary.. and i felt a bit let down by some promises of these big brands.. x
With Beauty Kitchen (natural skincare brand) you can give back your bottles in Holland and Barrett – not only do they get returned, cleaned out and reused but you also get 100 H&B loyalty points… worth doing over time 🙂
Oh I LOVE Beauty Kitchen, too! xx
Fabulous tips, especially for items that local collections won’t recycle. And that you can’t repair or upcycle.
It’s such a murky area with a lot of items, especially beauty packaging – so even to know where to take them helps! x
Very useful, thank you!
I take any random bits of material to H&M, be that the little bag some sunglasses came in, fabric swatches, old (clean) tights, old (clean) knickers, the little sheath thing an umbrella comes in etc etc.
Yes you realise there is so much excess fabric that comes with so many items!
Great piece Alex! I’ve been recycling clothes via H&M for years, but recently found out that Schuh recycle shoes and give you a £5 off voucher for them- https://www.schuh.co.uk/help/sell-your-soles/?affiliate_source=AW&campid=1127&adid=0&lpcat=network&channel=affiliate&utm_source=AW-mininetwork&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=skimlinkscontent&awc=2044_1582298539_a7510e11242ccbfb78b59601ef221338 which is great!
Oh this is so good to know! I sell/donate a lot of shoes but sometimes they’re too rough/worn for that! x