Sustainability Practices
RECYCLING: THE PASS DOWN PROGRAM
Since the conception of Rainy Pass Repair, Inc. four decades ago, our mission has always been to keep gear in circulation. Now, we’re taking it a step further with our Pass Down Program. We bring industrial-level recycling to our customers on their end-of-life technical gear, giving new purpose to unusable fabrics that have been traditionally difficult to recycle. In partnership with Material Return, LLC, we’re helping to close the loop on outdoor apparel waste. For items that are no longer functional or not cost effective to repair, you now have another option to keep it out of the landfill and in circulation.
How It Works
Send your rainwear, skiwear, and old fishing waders to Rainy Pass Repair, Inc. Once received, Rainy Pass Repair, Inc. carefully disassembles each item, sorting materials and removing non-recyclable trimmings and components from the items. Once trimmed, the fabric is sent to Material Return to be fiberized and repurposed into a new raw material stream such as dog bedding (from high-quality synthetic fibers) and automotive insulation (from waterproof fibers).
What Can Be Recycled?
The program accepts gear and garments that are functionally no longer usable, including:
- Waterproof breathable fabrics, including delaminated materials
- Synthetic technical fabrics
- Damaged, torn, or otherwise unrepairable textiles
Program Cost
A flat fee of $6 per item covers processing and recycling.
Why It Matters
With a strong commitment to sustainability, we’re forging new paths to ensure your gear is handled responsibility—even when repair is no longer an option. Together we can make better choices for a better planet.
Ready to responsibly recycle your items?
- You fill out the Pass Down Form. Include your contact information and write your payment info on the printable sheet.
- Send in your gear: Mail your items to Rainy Pass Repair. Write “RECYCLE” on the outside of your shipping box.
- All done! We will email you letting you know it has been received and recycled.
TEXTILES
As Gore-Tex® Fabric specialists, we understand the importance of performance technologies. This is why we clean and reuse fabric and materials from recycled or abandoned garments and gear. Not only does this allow us to utilize raw materials not readily available to the public, but it greatly reduces the amount of waste that we and our warranty partners produce.
CLEANERS
All of our in-house cleaning products used for technical laundering services are produced by NikWax. The first carbon-balanced company in the outdoor industry, NikWax has pioneered the use of sustainable and eco-friendly cleaners that are free of any harmful chemicals that may be left behind during the washing process. https://www.nikwax.com/en-us/
