Guess & Homeboy Recycling launches in-store recycling program

American fashion brand, Guess, has launched an in-store customer recycling program in collaboration with Homeboy Recycling, a certified and award-winning social enterprise, in honor of Earth Month.

Homeboy Recycling is a mission-driven company that delivers high-quality reuse and recycling solutions to consumers while also employing people who are motivated to change their lives after incarceration. Homeboy Recycling is part of Homeboy Industries (HBI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is the world’s leading gang rehabilitation and re-entry organization.

Homeboy Recycling is launching a new category of services within the textile and apparel sector through this partnership with GUESS. While their core business is IT asset refurbishment and recycling, they are launching a new category of services within the textile and apparel sector through this partnership with GUESS.

Customers can participate in the GUESS recycling program at any of the company’s GUESS, GUESS Factory, Accessories, and Marciano stores in the United States. Customers can receive a 15% discount on their next full-priced qualified purchase by bringing in 5+ apparel items of any brand to any GUESS shop. The items will then be delivered to Homeboy Recycling, where they will be sorted and processed for repair, resale, upcycling, and recycling.

Carlos Alberini, CEO, GUESS Inc., said that their collaboration with Homeboy Recycling paves the way for the development of more environmentally friendly products. This effort is a significant step forward in their VISION GUESS commitment to creating more circular business models. The GUESS collaboration with Homeboy Recycling generates revenue for their Los Angeles community while also providing a solution for garment and textile waste.

Chris Zwicke, CEO, Homeboy Recycling, said that at Homeboy Recycling, their primary goal is to grow businesses that will provide jobs and valuable training opportunities in the community. Homeboy Recycling is excited to launch this new line of business after extensive study and a trial run with GUESS. They discovered that this type of training is consistent with other workforce’s skillset and meets a big industry need. They look forward to continuing this cooperation and working with the industry to eliminate textile waste.

As GUESS continues on its circularity journey, this cooperation paves the way for more sustainable products and business models for the brand, as well as new prospects for Homeboy Recycling and the greater Los Angeles community.