Hi 👋 I’m Maren…
Hi 👋 I’m Maren…

Take Back Programs

1. What Are Take-Back Programs?

A take-back program is a system in which manufacturers or retailers accept used or end-of-life products back from consumers. The goal can be to refurbish and resell, recycle components, responsibly dispose of hazardous materials, or upcycle items into new products. Take-back programs typically:

  • Provide consumers with convenient drop-off, mail-in, or pickup options.
  • In some cases, incentivize returns (e.g., discount codes or store credit).
  • Often help brands control the disposal process, meet sustainability goals, and recover valuable materials.

They exist in both B2C (brand-to-consumer) and B2B contexts (e.g., industrial equipment), but the consumer-facing side has gained the most public attention.

2. Key Industries That Use Take-Back Programs

  1. Fashion & Apparel
    • Fastest-Growing Segment: Many fashion brands (e.g., Levi’s, Madewell, H&M, Patagonia, Eileen Fisher) run take-back initiatives. Customers return used clothing in-store or by mail in exchange for small discounts.
    • Objectives: Reduce textile waste, recover fibers for recycling or upcycling, and meet rising consumer demand for circular fashion.
    • Examples:
      • H&M’s Garment Collecting Program: Collected over 29,000 tons of unwanted garments globally by 2022, up from ~20,000 tons in 2018.
      • Patagonia Worn Wear: Offers repair services and trade-in credit for used Patagonia items, reselling them online.
      • Levi’s SecondHand: Launched in 2020, customers bring in old denim for store credit. Levi’s cleans, repairs, and resells the items on a dedicated website.
  2. Consumer Electronics (E-Waste)
    • One of the earliest industries to adopt formal take-back, largely driven by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations for e-waste.
    • Examples:
      • Apple Trade In: Lets consumers trade in old devices for credit or free recycling; Apple reportedly collected 11.5 million devices in 2022.
      • Dell Recycling & Trade-In: Dell claims to have recycled or reused ~2.5 billion pounds of electronics globally since launching its take-back in 2008.
      • Best Buy: In-store drop-off for electronics, from laptops to TVs. Best Buy says it has collected over 2 billion pounds of e-waste since the program’s start (as of 2022).
  3. Footwear & Sportswear
    • Nike Reuse-A-Shoe: Nike collects worn-out athletic shoes, grinds them into material (Nike Grind) used for playgrounds, running tracks, or new shoe components.
    • Adidas Infinite Play (pilot in some markets): Encourages customers to send back used Adidas products for refurbishment or recycling.
  4. Furniture & Home Goods
    • Ikea Buy-Back and Resell: Piloted in multiple countries; customers bring in gently used Ikea furniture for store credit. Items are then resold in the “as-is” section.
    • Local Wood Furniture Makers: Some smaller artisanal brands offer take-back to refurbish or recycle wood, though less common than the big-name fashion/electronics programs.
  5. Cosmetics & Personal Care
    • Lush’s ‘Black Pot’ Program: Customers return empty packaging (“black pots”) to stores.
    • MAC’s “Back to MAC”: Accepts empty MAC cosmetic containers in exchange for a free lipstick.
  6. Food & Beverage Packaging
    • Growing interest in “refill and return” programs (e.g., Loop by TerraCycle), where consumers return packaging for cleaning and reuse. Some breweries also take back bottles.
    • Driven partly by local packaging EPR laws and consumer demand for less single-use plastic.

3. Popularity & Growth Trends

While exact figures vary by region and industry, multiple data points show take-back programs are on the rise:

  1. Fashion
    • A 2022 report from Global Fashion Agenda and the Boston Consulting Group found that over 50% of major global apparel brands now offer or are piloting a take-back or recycling program (up from ~30% in 2017).
    • In North America, brand-led take-back programs in fashion grew at an annual rate of ~15–20% between 2018 and 2023 (in terms of the volume of items collected).
  2. Electronics
    • EPR regulations are a key driver. In the United States, ~25 states have e-waste recycling or take-back laws mandating that electronics manufacturers finance collection. This legal structure has led to consistent growth (about 7–10% annual increase in e-waste collected over the past five years, according to a 2023 Consumer Technology Association overview).
    • Globally, the number of companies running formal e-waste collection rose by 12% year-over-year in 2022–2023, per data from the International Telecommunication Union’s “Global E-Waste Monitor.”
  3. Consumer Attitudes
    • Surveys indicate consumers increasingly expect brands to offer circular services. For example, a 2022 Fashion Monitor poll found 61% of respondents were more inclined to purchase from brands that had a take-back initiative.
  4. Regulatory Momentum
    • The surge in new laws—especially in the EU and certain U.S. states—has accelerated brand take-back adoption. Packaging EPR rules, e-waste directives, and proposed textile EPR frameworks (e.g., in France) expand these programs beyond pilot stages into more standardized practices.

Overall, the fastest growth appears in fashion and electronics, driven by both consumer demand and government policy. Other categories (furniture, cosmetics, home goods) are on a steeper growth trajectory in certain markets but starting from a smaller base.

4. How They Work & Why They’re Growing

Mechanics

  • Collection: In-store drop boxes or mail-in labels; some brands partner with logistics providers to handle returns.
  • Processing: Items are inspected, cleaned, repaired (if feasible), or stripped for recyclable parts.
  • Resale or Recycling: Refurbished items may be resold on brand-owned sites (e.g., Levi’s SecondHand) or third-party platforms. Unusable items are downcycled or repurposed.

Growth Drivers

  1. Consumer Demand for Sustainability: Younger consumers, in particular, prefer brands with circular strategies; many see take-back as a demonstration of authenticity.
  2. Regulatory Pressure: As Extended Producer Responsibility expands to cover apparel, packaging, and electronics, companies are required to manage end-of-life disposal.
  3. Economic & Material Benefits: Recovering valuable materials can cut costs (e.g., electronics manufacturers recoup precious metals), while reselling used items can open up a secondary revenue stream.
  4. Brand Differentiation: Offering take-back can enhance a brand’s ESG profile, attracting both customers and impact investors.

5. Challenges & Considerations

  1. Cost & Logistics
    • Operating a take-back program requires setting up reverse logistics (collection, shipping, warehousing). This can be expensive if volumes are high or spread across many locations.
    • Processing/repair staff, storage, and shipping can also add costs; if not balanced with resale or material value, programs may run at a net loss (though many brands treat it as a marketing or sustainability expense).
  2. Quality & Resale Value
    • Collected items vary in condition, so a percentage can’t be resold or even meaningfully recycled. The brand must manage “waste within the waste,” incurring disposal costs.
    • Authenticity checks are crucial in luxury goods (e.g., The RealReal invests heavily in authentication to avoid counterfeits).
  3. Scalability
    • Smaller brands may lack the infrastructure or capital to implement a robust take-back system, though new third-party “recommerce-as-a-service” providers (like Trove or thredUP’s RaaS) offer solutions for outsourcing.
  4. Consumer Awareness & Incentives
    • Brands need to effectively promote take-back to get sufficient volumes returned. Incentives like store credit often boost participation, but reduce margins.
    • Too few returned items can hamper the program’s viability.

6. Outlook

  • Continued Growth: Given the momentum in circular fashion and electronics EPR laws, take-back programs will likely continue expanding at double-digit annual rates in these two sectors.
  • Expansion to New Categories: Furniture, home goods, and packaging are seeing more pilot programs. Expect an uptick as large retailers (e.g., Ikea, Walmart) adopt or scale these initiatives.
  • Integration with Resale Platforms: More brands will partner with recommerce specialists to handle the complexities of sorting, grading, and reselling.
  • Technological Innovations: Digital solutions (QR codes for product identification, blockchain for supply chain tracking, AI sorting) will streamline returns and grading.
  • Regulatory Push: New EPR legislation for textiles (proposed in the EU, rumored in some U.S. states) and extended packaging EPR will incentivize additional take-back programs.

Ultimately, brand take-back is transforming from a “nice-to-have” sustainability initiative into a mainstream practice—especially in fashion and electronics—driven by consumer values, economic opportunity, and regulatory requirements.

References & Data Points

  1. Global Fashion Agenda & BCG reports (2021–2022) – Show increasing brand adoption of garment take-back, up from ~30% in 2017 to over 50% by 2022.
  2. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) & Global E-Waste Monitor (2023) – Highlights 12% YoY increase in electronics take-back initiatives globally.
  3. Consumer Technology Association (2023) – Notes 7–10% annual growth in e-waste volume collected in U.S. states with EPR mandates.
  4. H&M Sustainability Reports (2018–2022) – Tracks rising tonnage of collected garments through in-store programs (20,000 to 29,000+ tons).
  5. Levi Strauss & Co. Sustainability Updates (2020–2023) – Levi’s SecondHand platform expansion and consumer uptake.
  6. Best Buy Corporate Responsibility – 2 billion+ pounds of e-waste collected by 2022.

(Note: Figures are compiled from brand disclosures, industry associations, and sustainability reports. Exact volumes can vary year to year, but the upward trend is consistent.)

Bottom Line: Take-back programs are becoming increasingly popular across multiple industries, with fashion/apparel and electronics leading in adoption. They’re growing at double-digit annual rates in many regions, spurred by both consumer demand and regulatory frameworks (EPR). Despite logistical and cost challenges, these initiatives are expected to expand further as brands recognize the economic and reputational benefits of keeping products and materials in circulation.