The transition toward a circular economy demands a deep redesign of consumption and waste management models, especially in high-impact sectors such as textiles. One of the mechanisms promoted by brands to bring this shift closer to consumers is the in-store take-back system, a collection point located in-store that allows consumers to return unwanted garments for reuse, recycling, or other forms of recovery.
Yet behind this seemingly simple gesture lies a complex value chain, where technology, traceability, and cross-sector collaboration are essential and where coherence and transparency between what is promised and what actually happens to that waste must be ensured.
An Accessible Entry Point to Circularity
In-store take-back systems play both a functional and symbolic role: they allow consumers to take part in the circular transition. By integrating these systems into everyday retail spaces, they reduce logistical barriers and support the habit of responsible disposal.
Indirectly, these drop-off points also act as spaces for awareness and normalization. Even when not actively sought out, they help make circular practices visible and routine.
When well communicated, they help consumers understand what can be returned, why, and where it goes, turning circularity into a shared learning and co-responsibility experience.
But What Happens Next?
Once a garment is placed in a collection container, its second life begins, and what happens next is critical. This is where key actors come into play. For example, Coleo operates both as a textile waste manager and a circularity partner, working alongside Wastex, a technology company specialized in textile waste traceability and sorting.
One of the most valuable lessons from our work, enabled by Wastex Technology, is the importance of centralized waste management. Processing textiles in a single specialized facility prevents material degradation, improves sorting precision, and allows for more efficient and traceable recovery routes. It also gives brands better data and more control over outcomes, which is essential in the context of upcoming regulations such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
From Waste Management to Systemic Circularity
This coherent operational approach enables the development of integrated systems that connect collection points (traditional or smart) with reverse logistics, sorting, reuse, and mechanical or chemical recycling technologies.
Our technical teams design each system based on the specific characteristics of the material collected, ensuring that each waste stream is directed to the most appropriate recovery path.
Wastex plays a critical role here, applying NIR (near-infrared) technology and computer vision to sort materials by composition, color, and garment type, enabling faster, more accurate, and traceable decisions around reuse and recovery.
This level of traceability not only optimizes resources but also ensures integrity and accountability at every stage of the waste management process, starting from the in-store collection point.
A well-designed take-back system doesn’t just reduce landfill: it unlocks new economic and social opportunities, and traceability over the textile waste, a topic we’ll explore further in our next article, A Suitable Destination for Every Garment: Second-Hand, Donation, and Textile Recycling.
Why These Systems Make Sense
When embedded in a broader circular strategy, in-store take-back systems deliver value at multiple levels:
- Provide consumers with a concrete, accessible role in circularity
- Generate valuable data on behaviors and product lifecycles
- Supply brands with clean, traceable post-consumer materials
- Anticipate compliance with regulations such as EPR
- Build trust and brand loyalty through visible, credible action
- Enable incentives, consumer engagement, and storytelling
- Support education on the value of textiles and their impact
At Coleo, we believe that circularity must be built on collaboration, traceability, and technical intelligence.
In-store take-back systems can be a central part of this vision when designed with ambition, clarity, and a true commitment to impact.
We’re here to support brands, retailers, and logistics partners ready to take the next step in post-consumer resource management. Because when waste is managed properly, it stops being a problem and becomes an opportunity.
Sara López – Circular Business Developer
