What to Do With Old Merch: A Guide to Recycling Your Branded Garments

Branded merch plays a big role in how businesses, events, and organisations represent themselves. Whether it’s staff uniforms, event tees, or promotional tote bags, these items serve a purpose—but what happens when they’ve reached the end of their life?

Most old garments end up in landfills, contributing to the 180,000 tonnes of textile waste that New Zealand generates annually. The good news? Many of these textiles can be recycled or repurposed instead of thrown away. Here’s what you need to know about recycling your old branded apparel and how to keep it out of landfill.

Why Recycle Your Old Garments?

• Reduces Waste – Textiles are one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world. By recycling old merch, you’re keeping fabric out of landfills and reducing pollution.
• Conserves Resources – Cotton, polyester, and other fabric materials require large amounts of water, energy, and raw materials to produce. Recycling helps cut down on the demand for new resources.
• Lowers Carbon Emissions – Textile production and waste contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling garments means fewer emissions from production and landfill decomposition.
• Supports Circular Economy – Instead of a single-use cycle, recycling allows materials to be repurposed into new products, reducing the need for virgin materials.
  
  
  

Print Room’s Clothing Take-Back Program & Recycling Partnerships

At Print Room, we offer a clothing take-back program to help our customers responsibly recycle old branded garments. If you have outdated uniforms, event apparel, or promotional merch that’s no longer needed, our take-back program—exclusively for existing Print Room customers—ensures that the merch we’ve produced finds a second life instead of ending up in landfill.

We work with specialist textile recyclers in New Zealand who transform old garments into new materials by diverting textile waste from landfills and repurposing it into innovative, eco-friendly solutions such as:

• Insulation
• Furniture removal blankets
• Geotextiles for erosion control in sensitive coastal areas, like the sand sausages at our local St Clair beach
  
  

How do we organise this?

1️⃣ Get in Touch

If you have outdated uniforms, event apparel, or promotional merch originally produced by Print Room, email us with details about what you’d like to recycle, including the type of fabric and quantity.

2️⃣ Shipping or Drop-Off

Once we’ve reviewed your request, we’ll calculate the shipping cost and provide you with a pre-paid shipping label so you can send the garments to us. If you’re based in Dunedin, you’re welcome to drop them off at Print Room HQ instead.

3️⃣ Responsible Recycling

Once received, we’ll ensure your garments are properly processed through our trusted textile recycling partners, giving them a second life instead of ending up in the landfill.

How Garment Recycling Works

Recycling textiles is an important step in reducing waste and extending the life of materials. The process varies depending on the fabric type, but here’s how it works:

Sorting & Collection

Garments and textile waste are collected and sorted by material type. The following fabrics can be recycled through Print Room’s textile recycling partners:

• Natural Fibres: Wool, Cotton, Linen, Flax, Harakeke, Jute, Cellulose Fibres, Silk, Bamboo
• Animal-Based Fibres: Mohair, Cashmere, Goat Fibre
• Semi-Synthetic & Synthetic Fibres: Rayon, Viscose, PET Fibres (Recycled Polyester)
  
  

Preparing Garments for Recycling

To ensure efficient recycling and prevent machinery damage, all garments must be free from non-textile components, such as:

• Buttons
• Zips
• Other metallic or plastic parts

If removal isn’t possible, our textile recycling partner can provide a removal service for a small cost.

Reprocessing & Repurposing

Through innovative manufacturing processes and advanced recycling technology, garments are processed into:

• Sustainable building protection
• Packaging alternative to foam and bubble wrap
• 100% recyclable signage
• Carpet underlays

By recycling your old merch with Print Room, you help reduce landfill waste and support a circular economy.

How Can Print Room Help?

At Print Room, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re always looking for ways to make branded merch more environmentally friendly. From water-based inks to organic and recycled fabric garment options, we’re committed to helping businesses think about the full life cycle of their merchandise.

When Ordering New Merch, Consider:

• Choose durable, high-quality materials that won’t wear out quickly.
• Opt for natural fibres like organic cotton, which are easier to recycle.
• Plan for end-of-life solutions—could you set up a take-back program for staff uniforms or event merch?
  
  

We’re happy to chat about options that help reduce waste while keeping your brand looking sharp. Get in touch today!