Trashie reviews and discussion

I have used Trashie many times for clothes that are much older, I don't fit in, are worse for wear etc... I know there are other companies to choose from that are similar in nature; but I currently am using Trashie only. I hope that everything given is actually being used in the most sustainable way. The system with cash back and rewards has changed a few times now and I am not quite a fan with the conversion of cash back per bag bought now. Even so, I did buy another three pack in hopes to received cash back on their site and thingtesting; as well as get rid of several items that I do not need anymore.

As I delve deeper into the world of sustainability, I have become aware of many new initiatives that try and encourage people to be more responsible with their purchasing habits. When Trashie came about I was intrigued by their proposition of a company that can recycle anything you send them, and will reward you for doing so. I was hesitant to use them for a few reasons, mainly because it costs $20 a bag. Of course, you get a pretty big bag and it costs money for the items to be shipped back, but having to pay money to recycle is something that is relatively new to me, as I am used to actually getting paid for recycling when I take in my bottles and cans. Yet the more I learn about sustainability, the more I am willing to put some money into businesses that are trying to prevent items from going into the landfill. The second reason I was hesitant to use Trashie is that when I first looked around their website, I did not see any specifics of how or where the clothes sent in are recycled. From what I could tell from their social media they actually try to resell items they get in but instead of with services like ThreadUp, they get all the money from reselling (not to mention the $20/bag cost). So, if things are not actually recycled, there is no point for me to use this service. However, that changed when I saw a video they made showing a recycling factory they use. In addition, their website now has lots of information and videos about what they do to recycle clothes that cannot be reused elsewhere. With that, I was convinced enough to try it out! I bought a bag and it does not come with tracking so it's a waiting game of up to two weeks to get it in the mail. Mine came on time, and I begun to fill the bag with some clothes and shoes I knew were way past their prime and could not be given to a thrift store. I noticed that there is no label on the bag, and instead the bag asks you to scan it to register it. I was quite surprised with this, as this is more work that having a prepaid return label on the bag already. Not to mention as soon as I registered my bag I got rewards points, which is weird and I think these should be given out once the bag is received. Thankfully the process of returning the bag is seamless and I know how to use a QR code at my local UPS to send it back. While I am super glad to see that Trashie now has proof of their work, I can't help but critique some of their methods of getting people to use their service. Mainly, their rewards are the run of the mill offers you see from most discount websites. Almost all of these rewards require you to spend over $30 to get a discount, or the discount is very small for an expensive product. Instead of promoting sustainable brands or services, Trashie is telling you to just buy more clothes because you can always send them to Trashie later. The only legit reward I saw was a $5 Starbucks gift card, but I don't have enough reward points for that one, whereas I can buy almost every other one of their rewards (aka discounts). Perhaps there were better offers when they first started, but like with most reward programs, that changes with time. I am a bit conflicted with Trashie, but no company is perfect and there is still a lot of room for improvement. They give people an easy way out of their overconsumption, but is perhaps a better way of doing things compared to people that dump all their unwanted clothes at a thrift store. I also do not like their rewards program at all, and think they should pivot to encouraging users to think sustainably. I am still reviewing this service positively as they are doing lots of work to actually get clothes recycled- which is not something I can say for most companies!