Helpsy - The Growing Business of Circular Fashion
Helpsy is a B Corps clothing collection company that works with municipalities, retailers and brands for returns/overstock and liquidation. They are the largest collector of clothing in the Northeast. After sorting, most of the collected clothing items are sold and the damaged pieces are downcycled. Helpsy is working to radically change the way people think about recycling. Please read on to learn more!
Where is the service based?
Helpsy is the largest collector of clothing in the Northeast. We have warehouses in White Plains, Eatontown, NJ, Philidelphia, and Boston. We partner with brands, non-profits and retailers nationally, so depending on the service — we have partners throughout the US.
For readers who aren’t familiar with Helpsy’s services, can you explain what you do?
Helpsy is a B Corps clothing collection company that has works with municipalities (check out helpsy.co to find a bin) and retailer and brands for returns/overstock and liquidation. We are expanding out work with many retailers and brands on various circular initiatives, like in-store collection bins for customer's old clothing, take-back programs and providing data on their clothing that we have collected.
Why is sustainable fashion important to you?
It moves me and motivates me. Fashion designers have always been my rockstars. And I was lucky enough to go back to school at FIT in my late thirties and change careers from IT consulting. I am incredibly grateful to do work that I love.
How has Helpsy made reusing and recycling of clothing easier?
As we grow our collections business, our bins increasingly make it easier for folks to drop off their old clothes. And as we pilot programs with recyclers in 2023, we are positioned to become one of the large feedstock partners in the US.
How would you give new life to items that would otherwise end up in a landfill?
It depends on how we collect the item but most of it is resold. We sell sort a large chunk of what we collect and sell clothing online, with partners like Poshmark, and to thrift stores throughout the US and internationally. The very damaged pieces get downcycled for the most part and we are building partnerships to be feedstock partners for textile recycling.
How does Helpsy ensure what they collect does not end up at landfills?
By sorting as much as we can and by working with vetted partners.
How is Helpsy radically changing the way people think about clothing recycling? Why is it important to you?
Ultimately, I would love for all towns in the US to have Helpsy bins for clothing that collect things that people want to throw out. It’s a key part of creating a circular economy to collect this, sort it, and keep it at its highest value for the longest time possible. It’s important to me because until fabric recycling scales and brands design more for reuse — extending lifecycle is the circular economy. It’s all that we really have at the moment.
Your service model also helps with downcycling end-of-life items. Can you explain to our readers how it’s done?
There are specific partners who mechanically shred the damaged clothing into something called “shoddy,” which is then used for rug mats, insulation, etc.
Helpsy also provides environmental data regarding the stock they collect and the purchases consumers make off of their website. How do you think this data can be helpful to consumers? What would you like more people to know about the impacts of the fashion industry on our environment?
I think that any information that causes people to think before they purchase is a good thing. There are a lot of people in the US guilty of overconsumption. No one needs 20 pairs of jeans, let alone 100 in my opinion.
All that said, it’s important to put the bulk of the blame for the overall environmental impact of the fashion industry squarely at the feet of brands and retailers. Especially when it comes to clothing winding up in landfill here in the US. Certain companies are specifically responsible for well over 50% of that volume. And while I am not going to name-drop them, I am professionally in contact with them hoping to stop that unnecessary waste.
What is it that sets Helpsy apart from other similar service models?
We are a B Corps, we handle reverse logistics and resale, and we are growing at a steady rate of 40% year over year.
How can shoppers be more environmentally contentious with their purchases?
Always wait to purchase something for yourself. Give it a day or longer to prevent emotional or impulse shopping. Also, be really familiar with your closet. I go through mine monthly, so that you know what you have and don’t buy duplicates. Buy used whenever possible and make sure that something is well made. Clothing purchases should be thought of as cost-per-wear and fast fashion does NOT save you money in the long run, especially on staples.
Apart from clothing, what are other areas of retail that consumers need to be environmentally mindful of?
Returns! Be really intentional when you buy, especially online. It’s downright lazy to order 4 pairs of shoes and then return what you don’t want. You can do better. But also realize that the majority of the landfill waste comes from retailers because they haven’t built out sufficient systems to handle their returns processing/sorting and resale.
Lauren B Fay - Director of Strategic Partnerships
It has been a crazy few years, was Helpsy impacted by the pandemic? How have you been staying positive?
During the pandemic, Helpsy was incredibly resilient and actually grew their collections business in a very trying and hectic time.
For me personally, I did a lot of journaling and internal work during COVID. I was a new mom and I had to fold a business and find consulting work. Through those challenges, I learned to give myself a ton of grace. On any given day, I can say that I am doing the best I can and be totally at peace with that. The major silver lining of COVID was that I took some time to teach myself new tools for personal and professional development that have been incredible.
What is your motto in life?
Always look on the bright side of life. It’s all about perspective — regardless of circumstances. And every time I say that phrase, I envision the Monty Python movie and laugh, so that’s helpful too.
Where can our readers find out more about you and Helpsy?
You can follow me on Instagram @thenewfashioninitiative, an account that I am restarting in 2023 and I am also on LinkedIn under laurenbfay. You can also check out the following websites:
