The North Face has announced the expansion of its Clothes The Loop recycling program to all of its retail and outlet stores in the US. The campaign extends the lifecycle of apparel and footwear brought in by consumers by giving them a new life through reusing items or reverting them to basic materials used for new product manufacturing.

The North Face quotes the US Environmental Protection Agency, which estimates that over 24 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste (PCTW) goes to landfills each year – the equivalent of about 70 pounds of textiles per person. The same source indicates that between 1999 and 2009, the volume of PCTW grew by 40&, while the diversion rate only increased by 2%.

Such impressive numbers have motivated the US-based company to implement an initial pilot tested at 10 The North Face retail locations. Clothes The Loop is now available in all 83 of The North Face retail and outlet stores nationwide.

Adam Mott, Director of Sustainability for The North Face stated: “We’re committed to creating responsible products – both in how we design them, and also in how long they last. We’re expanding Clothes The Loop to help find a second life for pre-owned apparel and footwear that might otherwise go to waste. We hope this campaign gets people thinking about the lifecycle of the products they buy and how they can take simple steps to help protect our environment.”

Through Clothes The Loop, more than 14 540 pounds (7.27 tons) of apparel and footwear have been diverted from landfills so far. Based on such numbers and on repeated requests from customers to expand the campaign Mr Mott shared the excitement of influencing a more responsible consumption.