With around 5.5 kilograms of used clothing per capita per year, Germans are not only the top exporters of used textiles in the EU, but also worldwide, surpassed only by the USA and just ahead of UK. These clothes are a burden on people and the environment, not only in their own country, but also in the Global South, where the clothes often end up. Unfortunately, the right recycling infrastructure is not (yet) in place to deal responsibly with the mountains of textile waste generated every year, neither in exporting nor importing countries.

Hamburg-based waste management company Recyclehero wants to counteract this: it offers a free collection service for used clothing throughout Germany and then passes the clothes on to second-hand shops or charity organisations within Germany.

Communication is important along the journey, which is why the Recyclehero is present at events such as the Fashion Revolution Week and also approaches large media companies to address topics like recycling and to give more visibility to textile recycling in particular.

FashionUnited wanted to find out more about the concept behind the company and spoke to co-founder Nadine Herbrich and content marketing and communications manager Hannah Ernst about the idea, acceptance, financing and what can be done with textiles that are not suitable for the second-hand market.

When and how did the idea for Recyclehero come about?

Our co-founders Nadine Herbrich and Alessandro Cocco founded Recyclehero in Hamburg in 2020 to facilitate and accelerate the path to a closed-loop circular economy. However, the idea was born back in 2017 in their college kitchen, where waste glass and paper were constantly piling up and the two wanted a practical collection service for recyclables. So they quickly set up one themselves! Recyclehero initially started as a collection service for used glass, waste paper and returnables in Hamburg.

Recyclehero founders Nadine Herbrich and Alessandro Cocco. Credits: Recyclehero

However, in 2021, we became aware of the global problem of fast fashion, used clothing collections and recycling: a large proportion of clothing is destroyed or exported to the Global South via conventional disposal channels such as bins for discarded textiles. We wanted to create a reliable and transparent way for people to bring their old clothes back into local recycling cycles and did a round of tests to assess the demand among our customers. After completing a successful pilot project, we added the collection of textiles to our services. At the same time, we looked for partners to sell the old clothes to so that the second-hand cycle would be as local as possible. We now offer our free collection service for used clothing throughout Germany.

How has the service been received? Are individuals or companies more active?

The service has been very well received. From the outset, our basic idea has been to provide solutions that are as low-threshold as possible for both private individuals and companies so that they can participate in the circular economy. In doing so, we try to think about every aspect of life: for example, our customers can get together in the office and collect or swap old clothes in an office setting before we collect the rest of the clothes; this quickly turns the whole thing into a team-building exercise. We also offer a takeback service for used clothing for fashion brands, which they can make available to their customers by integrating their website and/or via a classic used clothing collection bin in their store. So we have a diverse range of individuals, offices and companies who are happy to make use of our service.

What about financing, do the second-hand partners pay a fee?

Our start-up is financed by selling the clothing we receive to our second-hand partners.

How do you find/select your second-hand partners?

When selecting them, one thing is particularly important to us: the shared intention of where the clothes ultimately end up. A high degree of transparency is therefore essential. We also place a strong focus on the local distribution of clothing in Germany and always try to organise our cycles as locally as possible. Exports to the Global South are an absolute deal-breaker for us, as we do not think it is fair to simply ship our clothing to countries whose recycling infrastructure is not designed for this.

For pick-ups by Recyclehero at the doorstep, the old clothes (at least 8 kilograms) should be packed in bags. Credits: Recyclehero

How many items of used clothing are collected on average and what is most frequently handed in - tops, bottoms, women's, men's or children's clothing?

Our service is becoming increasingly popular. Most of the clothes we collect are for women, but there are also lots of clothes for men and children. The main thing is that the clothes are clean and wearable so that our second-hand partners can do something with them. We accept clothing, shoes and accessories, but not home textiles, for example. As a rule of thumb, we say: anything you can wear on your body.

It is understandable that only preloved clothes that are suitable for second hand can be collected. But what if people want to recycle torn or damaged clothing, bed linen or socks and underwear, does Recyclehero have any recommendations?

Depending on how damaged the items are, sometimes it actually makes more sense to throw them away than to throw them in the old clothes bin or repair them. We always act according to the waste hierarchy, which stipulates that waste should be avoided for as long as possible; items should be reused in the next step and only then should recycling or other utilisation be considered. We are not satisfied with the current options for recycling damaged textiles and therefore recommend using the clothing yourself for as long as possible, for example as cleaning rags or in an upcycling project.

When opting for climate-neutral and free shipping with DHL Go Green Plus, old clothes (at least 10 kilograms per shipment) should be packed in sturdy boxes. Credits: Recyclehero

Thermal recycling, which is usually used for clothing that is disposed of in residual waste, is ultimately also justified for those items of clothing that really have no other option. This at least prevents garments from rotting in landfills, where they emit methane and pollute the groundwater and soil with other chemicals. We are constantly looking at what makes the most sense and are also actively seeking partnerships that can provide a meaningful solution for worn or poor quality clothing within our cycles.

Overall, we urgently need investment in technologies such as fibre-to-fibre recycling that do something useful with textiles and more due diligence along the entire supply chain! The EU is currently passing important legislation in this area, such as the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which makes companies responsible for their textile products along the entire value chain. So there is still hope with regard to politics!

What is new at Recycelhero?

As mentioned above, we recently started offering a takeback solution for fashion companies: The customers of a certain brand can get rid of their old clothes through us and receive a voucher for the purchase of new goods from the respective brand. In this way, we are improving the existing collection service offered by large fashion companies by finding a meaningful reuse option for the clothing. For this solution, it is important to us to work with companies that share our values with regard to the environment, people and animals. We already have partnerships with Chapati Design and Toby Tiger, for example.

Recyclehero collects old clothes in metropolitan areas such as Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich in an environmentally friendly way, using cargo bicycles. Credits: Recyclehero

Since April, we have also been offering country-wide, climate-neutral shipping of used clothing via DHL Go Green Plus. This means that people from all over Germany can use our service and simply choose between convenient collection at home or flexible drop-off at a post office, packing station or parcel shop. The service has been very well received because a surprising number of people lack the alternatives to recycle their unused clothing in a meaningful way.

FashionUnited conducted the interview in written format.

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