Where can I re-use, repair or recycle my outdoor gear?

words by Dr Cath Flitcroft

Photo: Patched up jacket from @mulchrepairs in Sheffield

The most sustainable product is the product you already own. We've pulled together a list of retailers and organisations who can help you re-use, repair or recycle your old or unwanted clothing and outdoor kit.

Textile waste is a global issue that brands are increasingly required to take responsibility for so now there are more and more opportunities to help us reduce this waste and repair or dispose of our old kit responsibly.

Outdoor clothing in particular, contains synthetic fabrics such as nylon and polyester that are made from thin plastic fibres. These man-made substances can have an impact on the environment where they are used so reducing the environmental impact of our products at all stages of their life cycle is essential if we are to reduce our impact.

Recent data from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) suggests outerwear made up the bulk of items the public chucked away (37%) followed by shoes (19%).

The most sustainable product is the product you already own. This means keeping it out of landfill and using it for as long as possible before recycling it or donating it to someone who will continue to use it.

Here at the BMC, we have pulled together a list of retailers and organisations who can help us re-use, repair or recycle all of your old or unwanted kit.

Re-use / Donate 🤝

Cotswold Outdoor / Snow+Rock / Runners Need: Recycle My Gear

Drop off bins can be found in stores across the country. They'll take clothes of any quality and brand, home textiles, paired shoes (including climbing shoes) of any quality and brand (best bound together), garments that are ripped, have holes and permanent stains

Find Out More

Decathlon: Second Life

All Second Life products have been marked in transit or quickly tested by our customers, leaving them with small, superficial scratches. This means they can’t be sold as new, but they’re still in great working order.

Mountain Warehouse

Several retailers are part of a scheme where you can donate unwanted clothing to a charity and receive discount vouchers in return, a way to reduce it being thrown away and diverted from landfills. https://regain-app.com/

Osprey

Ex-sample and preloved, repaired rucksacks

Blue Bird Exchange

Reclaiming, repairing and redistributing outdoor gear (Edinburgh area)

https://www.bluebirdexchange.co.uk/

Outdoor Gear for Good

They take excess inventory of outdoor clothing at no charge, supply approved outdoor-related charities, recycle in the best way that they know, recover value from the best inventory and give all profit to charity.

https://www.outdoorgearforgood.com/who-benefits

Outdoor Gear For Good sells donated products from its UK eBay shop, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to conservation charities.

Repair & Clean🧵

Cotswold Outdoor: Repair and Care

Get your gear repaired, from jackets to sleeping bags

Montane Repair Service

In-house repair team help extend the lifetime of your product with a variety of repairs which include; patch and panel repair, stitching repairs, seam re-taping and zip slider repair.

Mulch Repairs

‘Mulch and the Broken Thing’ is an outdoor clothing and kit repair workshop based in Sheffield. Drop your items off at The Climbing Works if you need zip replacements, new baffle panels or cuffs in a jacket, boulder pad repairs, a seat patch in your favourite shorts or long pants, rucksacks, tents, sleeping bags, custom alterations, up-cycling.

Llanberis Resoles

Re-sole climbing shoes

Alpkit Repair Station

In-store repairs

Patagonia: Worn Wear Tour

Bring old gear from any brand to be repaired
Patagonia care and repair for your kit

Rab

Down & Synthetic Clothing Repair

Clean and repair service

https://rab.equipment/uk/?rab_live_uk_products%5Bquery%5D=repair

Lancashire Sports Repairs

Repairs on all outdoor brands like clothing, footwear, rucksacks, tents & sleeping bags

Feet First (Derbyshire)

Outdoor footwear repair service

Berghaus Repairhaus

Free repair service

Vango

Tent Repair, Awning Repair, Sleeping Bag Repair & Rucksack Repair

Tiso

Footwear repairs at their Edinburgh store

3rd Rock

MEND ME with an upcycled Repair Club patch, made from trouser leg offcuts.

Mulch and the Broken Thing

https://www.mulchandthebrokenthing.com/

Rerun Clothing

https://rerunclothing.org/

The Waxed Cotton Workshop

https://thewaxedcottonworkshop.com/

Down Cleaning

https://www.downcleaning.co.uk/

Ox Wash

Sustainable laundry and cleaning service (Oxford, Battersea, Cambridge)

Recycle ♻️

Rab

They are piloting a down collection scheme in the UK, trying to close the loop and collecting worn-out down products like old down duvets, pillows, jackets, sleeping bags and more, before giving this valuable material a new lease of life.

Find out more

Green Peak Gear

Working closely with a number of climbing walls to collect unwanted gear.

Scavenger

Together with Green Peak Gear, Scavenger are on a mission to provide alternatives to sending retired climbing gear to landfill. In many of the climbing centres across the UK, Scavenger have set up collection points where climbers can donate their old gear.

Dirt Bags Climbing

Recycling old outdoor and climbing gear and saving it from landfill.

Make your own rope rugs

Ideas on where to get patterns - some rope manufacturers include instructions with the new rope.

Crackpacs

Backpacks and bags made from repurposed canvas tents and outdoor gear.

Hard Hat recycling – Yes Recyling

The scheme is a membership scheme, whereby registered members can send their hard hats directly into a dedicated hard hat recycling facility where they will be destroyed, with all of the plastic being fully recovered and made back into “new” plastic pellets.