Guess Inc. is stepping up its sustainability efforts with the launch of “Guess Again,” a new apparel recycling program for U.S. online customers.

The program launched Oct. 10 in partnership with textile recycling platform SuperCircle. Going forward, Guess will let consumers recycle pre-owned clothing from any brand, participating in a broader circular economy for retailers.

Through the Guess website, customers can request a shipping label to send in unwanted clothing. In return, they receive Guess credits for future purchases. From there, SuperCircle handles the rest of the process. Later steps include collecting and sorting the clothes, as well as disassembling them. Then, materials are sent to recycling partners that specialize in different fibers.

“Our partnership with SuperCircle represents another strong step toward our Action Guess commitment to develop more circular business models,” said Carlos Alberini, CEO of Guess Inc., in a statement. “Guess Again, our partnership with SuperCircle, creates a new pathway for us to reduce our carbon footprint and offers a solution for apparel and textile waste.”

Guess currently ranks No. 176 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 Database of North American retailers by online sales. Digital Commerce 360 currently projects that total online sales for Guess in 2024 will reach $528.04 million.

Guess web sales by year

How Guess will work with SuperCircle on the recycling program

SuperCircle, a tech-driven reverse logistics platform based in New York, is no stranger to working with major brands. It previously partnered with J.Crew, Reformation and Tentree to help manage their clothing take-back programs.

The platform oversees the logistics of collecting and processing unwanted apparel, footwear and accessories. In some cases, those items come directly from consumers. In others, they arrive through bulk shipments from warehouses. SuperCircle also handles fabric scraps, unsaleable returns and excess inventory from partners.

Commenting on the new Guess partnership, Chloe Marie Songer, CEO and co-founder of SuperCircle, noted that 85% of textiles are either incinerated or end up in landfills, with 92 million tons of textile waste produced annually.

“We’re thrilled to bring seamless, incentivized textile recycling to climate-conscious GUESS fans everywhere in a program that is a win-win-win for the brand, the consumer, and our planet,” she said in a statement.

Expanding on Guess’s in-store recycling program

Guess Again builds on the company’s existing in-store recycling program, which launched in 2022 through a collaboration with Homeboy Recycling, a division of Homeboy Industries.

Through the program, customers can bring five or more items of clothing to any Guess, Guess Factory, Accessories or Marciano store in the U.S. After that, they get a 15% discount on their next full-priced purchase. The clothing collected in-store is processed for repair, resale, upcycling, or recycling.

In 2022, Guess and Homeboy Industries also introduced the Upcycled Collection. The collection included unique fashion pieces like tote bags, patchwork denim, bustiers and throw pillows made from recycled materials.

Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles, is known for its work in gang rehabilitation and re-entry programs. Its recycling division, Homeboy Recycling, expanded into textile recycling through its collaboration with Guess. Before that, Homeboy’s expertise was mainly in IT asset recycling.

Guess’s long-term sustainability goals

For Guess, the partnerships reinforce its bigger sustainability goals.

By 2030, the retailer aims for 75% of its global apparel materials to be environmentally preferred, according to its 2022-2023 ESG report.

By the end of the decade, Guess plans for 80% of its polyester to be either recycled or biobased. In addition, it wants 80% of the cotton used in its apparel to be regenerative, recycled or organic. Moreover, it plans to make 75% of its mainline denim part of the Guess Eco line, which uses sustainable materials like Tencel.

Additionally, Guess is committed to reducing its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. Looking further ahead, the company plans to transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2035 and achieve climate-positive status by that year. It hopes those moves will help it go beyond carbon neutrality to remove additional CO2 from the atmosphere, according to the report.

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