Bank & Vogue is hard at work to bring about a circular economy for the clothing and textile industry, working in tandem with a group of like-minded organizations to realize the benefits this idea can provide the earth, businesses, and consumers worldwide. Our association with SMART (Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles) provides our partners access to an extensive range of benefits, that help promote the interests of not just the environment, but also our partners.

What is SMART?

The association of Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles is an international trade organization comprised of businesses across the world; dedicated to promoting a closed-loop resource economy for textile-based products. With board members representing a wide range of prominent clothing and textile related industry verticals, SMART members each lend their unique insight to foster programs and standards designed to extract maximum economic and ecological value from the worlds textile, fiber, and clothing production.

Sitting on the SMART board of directors, Bank & Vogue’s vice-president Scott Nowlan acts as a voice to represent the needs, wants, and expectations of the post-consumer clothing and textile market. Lending his unique perspective on the challenges faced by the North-American used clothing collection and recycling industry, as well as international clothing re-sellers, he helps to define industry standards and programs that make recycling easier and more profitable for these industries and Bank & Vogue partners.

The Benefits of SMART Association:

Bank & Vogue has played a role in establishing several initiatives that promote the interests of the environment and the clothing re-selling industry worldwide. Designed to provide international clothing re-sellers unprecedented access to quality used clothing, as well as divert millions of tonnes of clothing from landfills, our collaboration with SMART has helped to inform public policy worldwide with respect to the proper use and management of clothing collection bins.

Benefits For Bank & Vogue’s Business, Charity, or Non-Profit Partners

Bank & Vogue collaborates with SMART members to produce and distribute ‘position papers’ to key public decision makers worldwide, informing them of policies and procedures they can realize to maximize the effect of clothing collection bins in their jurisdictions.

Our comprehensive experience with both the supply and demand side of the worldwide recycled clothing market serves to ensure that the interests of all partners are represented.

By educating policy makers and the public at large, these position papers ensure that clothing collection bins not only see maximum use, but proper use as well. SMART policy papers have demonstrated themselves to reduce the logistical burden on charities and international re-sellers to sort and process used clothing, decreasing costs for all our partners while increasing the quality and quantity of the recycled clothing they process.

In addition to these distinct business advantages for Bank & Vogue partners, our voice on SMART’s board of directors has contributed to forming international industry standards and business relationships that produce substantial environmental benefits for our planet. Consider these environmental advantages, and how associating your business with Bank & Vogue can help further the cause of environmental stewardship.

Environmental Benefits of SMART

The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15.3% of America’s approximately 251 million tonnes of annual clothing and textile waste are (as of 2012) being recovered or recycled. (Municipal Solid Waste Report, Page 7, Fig 1)

The same agency estimates that nearly half (48%) of the textile we waste is perfectly reusable.
Keeping in mind that a single pound of textile is estimated to emit more than 3-4 pounds of CO₂ during decomposition, and that the average cotton t-shirt takes approximately 2700 litres of water to produce, even a small impact on textile and clothing recycling serves to tremendously benefit the planet.

Studies performed by SMART and like-minded organizations have revealed that:

• 64% of people don’t want to drive more than 5 miles to recycle their clothing and shoes.
• 84% of people finding convenience of location and access important to choosing whether to discard or recycle their clothes.

These statistics help to explain why SMART is so passionate about educating public policy makers, and the public at large, about the importance of strategically approaching clothing collection bin placement, use, and management.

By producing even a minor percentage increase in the clothing and textile we recycle as a society, SMART stands to generate significant environmental benefits for the entire planet.

Participate in the Cause, and Enjoy The Benefits of a SMART Association, with Bank & Vogue

Working with Bank & Vogue provides our partners not only access to the benefits of our services, but to participation in a global environmental movement; all while making business easier and more efficient for the entire textile recycling and reselling industry.If you’d like to learn more about SMART and the work it performs to further the cause of environmental stewardship, you can find more information on the SMART website, here.

For more information on how Bank & Vogue can help your business, charity, or non-profit promote the interest of textile and clothing recycling; consider learning more about our services concerning store returns management, used products processing, as well as retail and logistics consulting.

Promoting environmental stewardship can promote the interests of your business as well when you have the right help. With organizations like Bank & Vogue and SMART in your corner, it has never been easier to meet the needs of the world and your business.

To learn more about Bank & Vogue and the benefits of partnering with us, get in touch!