This B Corp hopes to make second-hand clothes more accessible

85% of all clothes end up in the trash, says Dan Green, co-founder of Helpsy, a second-hand clothing store in the United States.

For years, they've worked with companies to get rid of containers of unwanted clothing — up to 40,000 pounds at a time, Green says. But, in an effort to engage directly with the public and breathe new life into some usable clothing, they launched the Helpsy store during the pandemic.

A new direct-to-consumer way to shop second-hand clothing, the store features notable brands like Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and & Other Stories, and offers products for both men and women.

Even amidst all the environmental awareness these days, Green reiterates that 85% of textiles are thrown in the trash by everyday consumers: people literally throw their clothes in the trash, at the instead of donating them, or finding ways to recycle.

So it's a two-sided problem: as a society, there's an overconsumption of clothes and then on the manufacturing side, there's an overproduction of clothes.

Helpsy, which is largely based in the North East, processes 100,000 pounds of garments a day, and last year, 29 million pounds of garments. They pass this on to thrift stores and third parties who work with overseas thrift stores. But there are still far too many clothes, says Green.

"I mean, I see this in my own house. If your kids play sports, they get a new t-shirt every season. As kids get older, they also go through a lot of clothes. ”

That's why this fall, he hopes that some families will turn to Helpsy Shop for their back-to-school shopping, where they can find trendy models from well-known brands for their teenagers.

While big brands have incentives to bring used clothing back to their stores, Green worries that some of this marketing is greenwashing: "Is their goal to recycle or to reuse clothes or sell you more clothes?"

Helpsy has several channels for its business, all of which Green says are designed to improve the recycling and re-wearing of clothes. For example, the company also works with brands to provide early education in sustainable production. They've consulted with chemical and mechanical recycling companies about textile degradation (Green says, "These still have a ways to go"). There's also Helpsy Collect: a network of more than 1,300 clothing collection points, coupled with hundreds of clothing drives and curbside collection programs stretching from Boston to southern New Jersey. Finally, Helpsy runs Helpsy Source, a sustainable wholesale resource for e-commerce sellers big and small.

"In most homes, recycling plastic, glass, metal and paper is the norm, but clothes, shoes and accessories have long been ignored, resulting in textiles accounting for 6% of our landfills. That's over 100 pounds per person, per year. With Helpsy Shop, we hope to continue to reduce the enormous environmental burden of the garment industry by keeping wearables in circulation."

Now you can even send your used clothes by post, if you don't know what to do with clothes you no longer want. Helpsy has a prepaid courier that it sends directly to customers.

The process of keeping clothes out of the landfill is time-consuming work, says Green: the sorting and data entry required is significant, and that applies to their online store as well as physical thrift stores. But, with greater awareness, it is optimistic that more and more people will be aware of where they throw away their used clothes.

"Our only competition, really, is waste," says Green.