Looking to Minimize Textile Waste? Why Trashie’s Take Back Bag Beats thredUP’s Clean Out

A whopping 85% of all clothes — including the old clothes you donate — wind up in landfills, and there are two especially prominent solutions to this problem. One of these solutions, though, is much better than the other. Here’s why Trashie’s Take Back Bag — which diverted 3 million pounds of textiles from landfill in 2023 — is superior to thredUP’s Clean Out.

Take Back Bag vs. Clean Out: A side-by-side comparison

	Take Back Bag	Clean Out
Quick and easy clothing acceptance	Yes	No
Cash rewards	$20 per bag	Varies
Accepts rips, tears and stains	Yes	No
Accepts all brands	Yes	No
Accepts all textiles	Yes	No

Why the Take Back Bag beats Clean Out:

1. It’s easier to get your clothes accepted

To donate your clothes via Clean Out, your textiles must pass thredUP’s 12-point inspection, and not nearly everything you send will pass. That’s because thredUP avoids fashion waste by selling your old clothes to online thrift shoppers. In other words, your clothes need to look good to qualify for Clean Out.

Conversely, Trashie accepts any and all textiles. You’ll find it much easier to recycle with Trashie’s Take Back bag, and your clothes will find a second life via Trashie’s network of state-of-the-art textile recyclers, all based in the US.

2. The cash rewards are more consistent

For every Take Back Bag you send to Trashie, you automatically get $20 in Trashie Cash credit to spend on sustainable clothes and home goods through our partnership with ForDays.com. You’ll can also spend it on exclusive rewards from your favorite brands like Nike, Target, Prana, Pact, Okko and more to use on their sites. In fact, Trashie has already rewarded shoppers with $1 million in Trashie Cash in 2023!

How much money you get from your Clean Out bags varies. For starters, you’ll only get money if thredUP successfully sells your old clothes, and how much money you get depends on your items’ sales price. Reliable rewards are Trashie’s bread and butter — and the more Take Back Bags you send, the better.

3. Trashie accepts ripped, stained, and torn fabrics

No matter your textiles’ condition, Trashie will accept them. Its goal with the Take Back Bag is to keep all fabrics out of landfill no matter what. With thredUP’s Clean Out, though, you can only donate clothes that are in pristine condition. You’ll have far fewer items to donate after going through your closet, and anything that doesn’t make the mark might ultimately go to landfill.

4. Trashie accepts textiles from all fashion brands

You can add clothes from any brand, whether household-name or virtually unknown, to your Take Back Bag. For Clean Out, on the other hand, there are literally hundreds of clothing brands that thredUP doesn’t accept. Only with the Take Back Bag can you fully clean out your closet.

5. Trashie accepts all textiles, period

At the end of the day, the major difference between the Take Back Bag and Clean Out is that Trashie accepts way more fabrics. That includes clothes (including baby clothes), sheets, towels, shoes, accessories, even Halloween costumes. If anything, when you have thredUP leftovers, they make perfect fits for your Take Back Bag! You can send in more than clothes — linens, pillowcases, handbags, shoes — no matter their condition or brand. No wonder Trashie diverted over 21 million pounds of carbon dioxide in 2023!

With each Take Back Bag, you save 15 pounds of textile waste, 16,000 gallons of water, and 92 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. And since Trashie is currently offering free shipping when you buy three Take Back Bags, you have a more affordable way to give more back to the earth. From fully diverting waste to guaranteeing rewards, the Take Back Bag beats Clean Out on every front.