Recycle your underwear
We are changing the recycling we collect
What started off a few years ago as a few parcels sent from our lovely community with underwear, socks, tights and swimwear to recycle has grown so much that our current methods of recycling through TerraCycle and Cotton Lives on are no longer viable for the volume and type of fabrics we are getting.
As you know, underwear is one of the hardest categories to recycle, given the mixed fibre blends, integrated elastic, and hygiene concerns. Despite our efforts, no other underwear brands have stepped up to help close this loop, meaning we’re essentially recycling for the whole industry.
Right now, we have a backlog of hundreds of kilograms, and we’re still receiving about 40kg each month.
What we can recycle now
Unfortunately due to our backlog we are therefore now going to have to limit our take-back scheme to just our own products. As they are 95% GOTS Certified organic cotton and 5% elastane, we are able to recycle them through the Cotton Lives On™ recycling programme and Naturalmat, who turn them into roll mats for community organisations. We really hope this is a temporary measure while we deal with the backlog, and we are currently looking into a variety of solutions.
We are still able to take lightly worn bras and any new, packaged underwear to send over to our partner charity Smalls for All. They donate them to women and children in the UK and Africa who are in need.
How to recycle
If you're local to Oxford, you can drop your clean Y.O.U underwear or any lightly worn bras (or new undies) into our shop in Oxford’s Covered Market, directly into our collection box, 7 days a week.
If you're elsewhere, or can't get to the shop, you can post them to us at:
Y.O.U Underwear Oxford, Unit 84, The Covered Market, Market Street, Oxford, OX1 3DY.
and we’ll make sure they get recycled!
Unfortunately, as a small business, we can't cover the postage costs. We are covering the recycling costs though, so you don't need to pay to have your garments processed.
Smalls for All
Any bra or new pair of underwear donated to us helps someone in need of underwear.
In the UK, Smalls for All helps charities that focus on alleviating poverty, by providing them with underwear.
In Africa, Smalls for All helps individuals in orphanages, slums, camps, hospitals and schools, supporting people in over 18 countries.
Where possible, Smalls for All ensures that underwear is bought in local communities, rather than being shipped in – this reduces shipping and helps to support the local economy.
Cotton Lives On™ and Naturalmat
We can take back our own underwear to recycle them through Cotton Lives On™ recycling programme and Naturalmat, who turn them into roll mats for community organisations.
The underwear is shredded and reprocessed into a pad by Naturalmat who work their magic to turn your old cotton into something brand new!
They need fabrics with 85% cotton or more, making Y.O.U underwear perfect for recycling through this scheme!
Looking Forward...
We really hope this is a temporary measure while we deal with the backlog. As a small business, space is at a premium and we simply can’t cope with receiving more than our own underwear at this time. It’s also costing us a lot to process, store and deal with all the recycling, which sadly we can no longer afford to cover ourselves.
We are currently looking into a variety of solutions and hope we can find a solution that works for us.
We are sorry about this change, but thank you for your understanding - and please do get in touch if you can help in any way.
