by Madison Naves | WeINSPIRE Journalist 

Birmingham, AL-- In 2008, Elaine Birks-Mitchell stepped into her bedroom to find a bra. She scoped through her wardrobe and found a myriad of bras. Various colors and sizes were of abundance in her drawers. She scavenged through her options before noticing a common occurrence between them; they all had tags on them. Mitchell knew there was no way she needed that many and began to ponder how she could rid herself of them. She thought about throwing them away but figured they would probably end up in a landfill with other undesirables. The bras were still in perfect condition. Mitchell figured then that if she could not use them, maybe someone else could. That same year The Bra Recyclers (TBR) was born. 

How It All Started

Elaine and her husband Johnny Mitchell reside in Phoenix, Arizona. They co-founded TBR together in 2008 after Elaine was inspired to find an environmentally conscious way to give back to her community. 

“Bra Recyclers started for me as a way to give back to women escaping domestic violence and sex trafficking right here in the Phoenix area; it’s a huge need that a lot of people don't think about, ” Elaine said. 

Arizona has the fifth-highest rates of domestic violence in the US as of 2021, reported by worldpopulationview.com. In Phoenix, AZ, 42.6% of women experience some form of domestic violence or abusive behavior from an intimate partner, according to The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. This frequency in domestic violence had become so prevalent in the community that many shelters had become overcrowded and lacked essential resources to help the influx of survivors escape abuse. 

Resources such as bras are typically challenging to come by for people in need because of the common misconceptions behind undergarment donating. It is common for many to believe that undergarments are not recyclable because of hygiene barriers, which is not true. People can donate gently used bras to charities, shelters, and women in need. Worn bras, which the Mitchells describe as “pre-loved,” can be recycled and reworked into new garments instead of ending up in landfills.

The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) have been working globally to educate people about clothing waste since 1932. They were able to site that 85% of textile materials such as clothing and garments are disposed into landfills, although 95% are suitable for recycling.

“[Bra recycling] was very foreign to us, and I think to a lot of people too because the textile industry is not very transparent, ” Mitchell said. “We formed a little niche in the clothing recycling industry for bras, but first and foremost, it started as a way to fill that gap in the community for women trying to transition to self-sufficiency and need something as simple as a bra.”

By the end of 2008, the Mitchells had joined multiple textile boards and turned TBR into a social enterprise. What began in their humble home garage expanded after they started receiving bras by the truckloads.  Filling storage units with bras from across the country turned into filling warehouses. For this very reason, it was time to expand.

Becoming a Social Enterprise For Change

Expansion of their company meant partnering with retailers within the lingerie industry to create drop-off locations inside stores like Soma Intimates. This expansion allows women to donate bras at local lingerie stores and online through the TBR website. These partnerships have also helped to educate retailers about the environmental issues improper textile disposal can cause. Many retailers were accustomed to burning, cutting, or simply throwing away overstocked or returned bras instead of recycling. By creating relationships with said retailers, TBR has helped companies develop new policies to donate unwanted bras. They do this through TBR’s Bra Ambassador Program, where storefronts can partner with them to take in locally donated bras and send them to local charities. They encourage consumers to practice this because it helps women in need and saves money as retailers supply discounts to consumers after each donation. 

“We’re seeing a lot of Millennials and Generation Z wanting to start more businesses giving back,” said Mitchell. “I’m a firm believer that you can be a for-profit company and still give back just as much as a non-profit.”

Encouraging brands to become environmentally conscious is effective, especially in today’s trends, with sustainability being a must for consumer’s support for brands.

“The biggest challenge has been changing policies and mindsets that you have to throw things in a landfill,” Mitchell said. “I think now that being sustainable is the way to go; we’re seeing that millennials are saying ‘Hey, I’m only going to use my dollar if you have some sort of sustainable position or are also helping the community.” 

Mitchell mentions that this helps their company have conversations about brands needing to show that they are helping the planet and its people. 

The Bra Recyclers Global Impact

On top of providing women with bras, TBR has also created jobs for people living with disabilities by partnering with companies like Epi-Hab to sort and ship the 8000+ bras being donated monthly to their warehouse. They are now able to donate bras globally to help women around the world. 

Becoming a social enterprise was the best practice to find other communities that needed bras. By officializing their company as a social enterprise, the Mitchells were able to find more women in need on a global level. They partnered with nonprofits like Miya’s Foundation to donate bras in continents like Africa, where bra accessibility can be scarce to underserved communities. TBR has now partnered with over 100 international nonprofits while discovering why donating bras is so important. The Mitchells explained how partnering with nonprofits has taught them about cultural practices worldwide like breast-ironing and using bras as rape deterrents. Giving these women in need well-fitting bras is essential in protecting women from any gender-based violence they may be susceptible to.

“There are so many different reasons that people need bras besides just looking good in our clothes and [avoiding] bras going into landfills,” Mitchell said.

She believes that by educating more people about bra recycling, Women in need can better access them and extend the lifeline of garments. Mitchell suggests that women should consider getting measured before purchasing bras to avoid buying ill-fitting bras that will be returned to retailers or left unworn. Johnny adds that researching local recycling programs and drop-off locations at boutiques and retailers can help deter the vast majority of textile waste in landfills like TBR’s Ambassador program. He notes that today, TBR has repurposed over four million bras in the past 14 years. 

Going forward, TBR wants to educate more people about their company, the work they do, and the difference donating can make for women around the world. To learn about the process of donating garments, please check out brarecycling.com and consider donating today!