Courier service helps Aussies recycle unwanted textiles

Every year, about 800,000 tonnes of textiles end up in landfill. To help tackle this problem and help consumers recycle and repurpose their pre-loved textiles, courier service CouriersPlease (CP) is collecting unwanted items from Australian households via a partnership with sustainable sock company Upparel.

Through the CP–Upparel initiative, people can book a collection through the Boomerang returns portal on the Upparel website and have their old items collected from their home. Once collected by a CP courier, Upparel will repurpose the textiles to give them a new life.

The partnership, which began last June, has seen 3989 textile collection bookings, 73,045 kg of textiles avoid landfill and in turn, saved 292,178 kg of greenhouse gases.

Through its strategy to reduce emissions and be a carbon neutral carrier by 2030, CP has become low CO₂ certified through the Carbon Reduction Institute and is gearing up for the launch of its carbon neutral ePak satchels this year.

CP is encouraging Aussies to do their part to reduce textile waste and minimise their carbon footprint by recycling their old shoes, socks and textiles through the CP at-home textile collection.

Image caption: Paul Roper, CCO at CouriersPlease, and Michael Elias, Founder and CEO of Upparel.