Where to donate your clothes? Give them a second life together with InPost!
Ecology
26 October 2024
Where to donate clothes you no longer wear? Instead of throwing away good clothes, it is worth donating them to others for further use. Donating clothes is an eco-friendly solution that leads to a reduced carbon footprint. So how and where do you donate your used clothes? Choose EKO Return!
Where to donate used clothes to give them a second life?
What can you do with clothes you no longer wear? If they are in good condition, definitely don't throw them in the rubbish bin! Those who want to donate clothes for further circulation can use the EKO Returns service. This is a free service from InPost that allows you to send items to the Reclaim the Environment Foundation.
Where can I return clothes as part of the EKO Returns service? Simply place your unwanted clothes in any Paczkomat® machine. It is a convenient solution, as the machines of the InPost courier company can be easily found in many housing estates in small and large cities. InPost couriers collect parcels of clothes from the machines' free-standing lockers, so that they can then be re-circulated, donated to charities or disposed of responsibly (if their condition does not allow for further use).
Why donate clothes you no longer wear?
You already know where you can donate clothes, but do you realise why it's worth doing? Counterintuitively, there is more at stake than just supporting foundations and charities. It is just one of the benefits of consciously treating unworn clothing.
Donating clothes for reuse is a practice that also has a very positive impact on the environment around us. All because donated clothes do not end up in a landfill, but gain a second life in another wardrobe. This creates a closed-loop economy, by means of which you can aim to reduce the production of things. Thus, you are able to support the reduction of your carbon footprint, which is absolute for climate change.
If living a zero waste or less waste life is close to your heart, analyse the contents of your wardrobe. Check to see if you have clothes that are in good condition but are lying around unworn. Then donate them to the Recover Environment Foundation through the EKO Returns service.
Donate clothes for further use by EKO Returns and claim 20 InCoins in the loyalty programme. Visit the 'Rewards' tab in the InPost Mobile app to find out more.
How do ECO returns work? Send a parcel in just a few steps!
E-returns can be completed in two ways. To give your clothes a second life, simply use the InPost website or the InPost Mobile app. The latter is available for download to your smartphone in the Google Play shop and App Store.
When you select the tab created for ECO Returns, a question about the size of the parcel appears on the screen. At this stage, you need to determine what size the parcel is - small, medium or large. The dimensions provided by the carrier next to each size will help you do this.
Next, the sender of the clothing parcel will see a question about the category of the ECO Return. When you expand the list, various options will appear, and among them you will find the one called Clothing. Click on the tile with this wording. After that, all that remains is to fill in the form with the sender's information. You should then fill in your name, telephone number and e-mail address. These are necessary in order for the return to be processed smoothly and to be traceable at every stage.
When all the information is complete, simply click on the button marked I make an E-return! InPost will then send a message to your phone number containing the code for sending the parcel with the clothes. Once you have it in your possession, clearly write down the digits on the parcel.
At the very end, go to a nearby Paczkomat® machine, where you will send an EKOreturn for free. InPost supports activities that relate to the 3R principles (reuse, reduce, recycle) and therefore handles such parcels free of charge. So all you have to do is go to the free-standing parcel machine, enter the sending code on its screen or scan the QR code from the app, and then put the parcel with your clothes in the box, which will open automatically.
After closing the door of the machine, the sender of the clothing parcel will receive a confirmation that the EKO Return has been sent. Later, he or she will easily be able to follow its journey in the InPost Mobile app. 
Responsible preparation of the package for ECO Return
In order to get a good start on the second life of your clothes, you first need to properly prepare the package for shipping. This, too, can be done in an eco-friendly way. The first step to environmentally responsible shipping is to place the garments in old packaging that has not been damaged and is therefore reusable. All you have to do is peel off the previous label from the cardboard box or foil pack and they will become ideal for shipping the clothes.
Remember to size your packaging according to the dimensions of the items you are handing over. However, if you only have large boxes available, you can put fillers in the cardboard box to protect the items. Do away with bubble wrap, however, and opt for eco-friendly solutions such as paper or wood wool instead.
A small package can be sealed using eco-friendly paper tape. There is no need to stick a label on a parcel prepared in this way, so you can dispense with the process of printing and wasting paper. All you need to do is write the postage code on the parcel yourself and then send it via the nearest Parcel Machine®.
How do you help other people on a daily basis?
Donating clothes to those in need is just one way of helping others. It is worth remembering that many people have many more needs that go unfulfilled due to difficult living or financial circumstances. Therefore, it is good to know that where you can donate clothes you no longer use, you are also able to return various items under other categories of ECO Returns. These categories include Electronics, Footwear, Books and Children's items. Electronic items such as phones, cameras, audio equipment and products from the small domestic appliances category are also accepted.
All items donated to the Paczkomat® vending machines as part of the EKOreturn service are tested for fitness. If they fulfil their original function, they are returned to re-circulation and are donated to community organisations, among others.
On the other hand, when donated items are damaged, they are repaired or taken to professional processing facilities (if their refurbishment exceeds the cost of producing a new product). In this way, up to 80% of the materials can be recovered, which will be used to create new products.
Doing so not only helps other people, but also you and your environment. All because you are consciously contributing to reducing waste, thereby applying the concept of zero waste and caring for the environment.
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