Volcom Partners with I:CO to Give Used Clothes and Shoes New Life

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) June 15, 2011 - Beginning in June, you’ll see two new fixtures in Volcom’s U.S. retail stores, and these are not new sales fixtures. Prominently displayed in each U.S. Volcom store will be collection boxes for used apparel and shoes. 

As of June 12^th, Volcom customers will be able to turn in their unwanted clothing and shoes in return for a 10% discount in the same store. The collected goods will be sorted and graded and will either go on to find a new home, be reused into items like cleaning cloths or will be recycled into raw materials that will be used in creating innovative products for the automotive, building and fashion industries and many others.   The aim of the program is to bring awareness to consumers about the amount of unwanted product that is often needlessly discarded and thus, cluttering municipal landfills. Volcom hopes the in-store collection bins will encourage those who haven’t already changed their habits to do so by engaging in the apparel and shoe recycling process to conserve valuable, and often limited, material resources.   The aim of the program is to build a better world by making it easy and instantly rewarding for consumers to do the right thing with their used clothing and shoes. bring awareness to consumers about the amount of product that is often needlessly discarded and thus, cluttering our landfills is staggering. Volcom wants to bring more awareness of this issue to consumers and to help encourage them to change their habits by engaging them in the apparel and shoe recycling process to conserve valuable material resources.   “It’s amazing how much product so many of us go through in our lifetime. So much of it too, has potential for a 2^nd life and if it’s reached the end of its usefulness, it deserves to be recycled,” says Derek Sabori, Volcom’s Director of Sustainability & CSR.   The program is a pilot with the global clothing and shoe recycling company I:CO (which stands for I:Collect). Its philosophy of “Recycle, Redeem, Renew” aligns perfectly with Volcom’s New Future vision – a spin on what most companies would call their sustainability outlook. Volcom’s New Future blog states: “The New Future looks a lot different than today’s future. It is Cleaner, more Conscious, more Renewable, more Efficient, more Regenerative, more Sustainable and Less Impactful.   We’ll continue to work towards incorporating New Future thinking into all aspects of our business, and we ask that you do your part in helping us build a future that we can proudly pass on to all generations to come.   Our New Future begins today.”   I:CO, an affiliated company of the SOEX Group, the world leader in textile and shoe recycling, notes that Volcom is the company’s first U.S. partner and is both excited and optimistic about the launch.   Jennifer Gilbert, I:CO’s Chief Marketing Officer says, “Volcom’s New Future vision and impressive sustainability efforts in the action sports world make them the perfect partner to launch the I:CO movement in the U.S.   Through the clothing and shoe collection program, together we are making it simple and gratifying for consumers to help us build a healthier and happier planet. We are excited about our partnership and look forward to a great response from Volcom’s customers.”    You can learn more about Volcom’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility program and the Volcom store locations participating in the I:CO collection program at www.volcom.com/newfuture and about I:CO at www.ico-spirit.com.   VOLC14598