Counselor Top 40 supplier S&S Activewear (asi/84358) has discontinued its textile recycling program with nonprofit Give Back Box, effective Aug. 29, citing a lack of verifiable end-of-life product data.

In a message to customers, the Bolingbrook, IL-based supplier said it’s working to create a more sustainable company “using renewable energy, efficient technology and safe workplace practices.” As part of its tracking and reporting efforts, the company said it’s striving “to use the most reliable and verifiable data possible” in its calculations.

“After completing an audit review of our greenhouse gas emissions data, we’ve determined that the Textile Recycling Program negatively impacts our footprint,” S&S Activewear explained. “Additionally, due to the lack of data, we are unable to make verifiable recycling claims.”

Cheyenne Vance, sustainability specialist with S&S Activewear, told ASI Media that the supplier was accounting for emissions for the Give Back Box services, including things like transportation, but couldn’t quantify any reductions due to lack of data from the nonprofit.

“Give Back Box was not able to confirm exactly what was being done with the donated items at the end of their life, nor provide the level of detail we would need to include reductions in our footprint,” Vance said.

Though S&S Activewear will no longer be working with Give Back Box, Vance said she is currently researching new textile recycling programs that might be a good fit for the supplier and that provide traceable, verifiable data. S&S Activewear also plans to focus more on improving energy efficiency and using renewable energy at its facilities as part of its sustainability strategy, she added.

Give Back Box was founded in 2012 by Monika Wiela who at the time was running an online shoe store, according to the nonprofit’s website. Its mission is to give a second life to corrugated boxes used in e-commerce by using them to donate unwanted items. The nonprofit says it has shipped and recycled more than 1 million boxes since its founding and works with brands like Amazon, Nordstrom and Macy’s.

Give Back Box wasn’t the only recycling partner S&S Activewear has worked with. Last year, for example, the supplier worked with SwagCycle to donate hundreds of thousands of apparel items, as part of its merger with alphabroder, to Provision Ministry, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit serving veterans, children and families.

When it comes to product donation and recycling, “Transparency is of paramount importance,” said Ben Grossman, co-president of Woburn, MA-based distributor Grossman Marketing Group (asi/215205) and founder of SwagCycle. Grossman, part of the Promo for the Planet advisory board, is a member of the Counselor Power 50 and the 2022 Bess Cohn Humanitarian of the Year.

“For every donation project, we know exactly which nonprofit organization is receiving the items and what their intended use will be,” he added. “No project is considered complete until we’ve received a donation letter from the 501(c)(3) on behalf of our client.”

By the same token, recycling projects must include a certificate of recycling directly from the plant, which SwagCycle shares openly with clients.

“That level of accountability is critical,” Grossman said, “not just to build trust, but to ensure obsolete merchandise is truly diverted from landfills and making a measurable impact.”

S&S Activewear ranked second on Counselor’s most recent list of top suppliers, with estimated 2024 North American revenue of $3.6 billion.

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