22 Comments

  1. This sounds like a great program! I’ve never donated my shoes to a recycling program before – I’ve normally opted for selling or donating. I’m definitely going to see if I can find a recycling program in my area now!

  2. I didn’t know about this program! I take old athletic shoes to Nike to be recycled, but that is a good 30 minute drive out of the way. We have a DSW in Madison about 10-15 minutes from where we live, I’ll have to check that out! I’ll add DSW to my jaimedeclutters.com recycling page too!!!

  3. Amelia Shannon

    Great post! Thanks for sharing this super useful information. I’m very much in decluttering mode and fret over the best, sustainable way to find homes for my unwanted stuff.

    • I’m glad it was helpful, Amelia. I don’t know that I would have tried it without the motivation to write the post because I was really imagining them trying to sell me on buying new things. They honestly could not have made it easier! The associate was so thankful and seemed genuinely happy to support the program. And honestly? I could have just plunked them in the bin myself and saved even more time! 😀

  4. Kim Domingue

    Yes! There is a DSW on my weekly route through town! I will be dropping off there instead of donating elsewhere! Thanks for the heads up!

  5. I never knew DSW had a recycling program, thanks for this info Penny. There is a DSW store close to where I live and with a couple of old running shoes that I ran into the ground and just collecting dust at home, I may have to stop by and put them up for donation. I’ve haven’t really donated shoes before so this is something I may start doing especially with a DSW close by.

  6. Huh! Sounds like I’m in good company having no idea that DSW recycled shoes! I used to take my old sneakers to Modell’s and Sports Authority, but since both closed, I’ve had a pile up of “shoes to beat up doing outdoor projects” in the basement. Thanks!

    • We were in a similar situation! We have a local running shop that we love to support, but they only do a recycle program occasionally. I wanted these shoes gone yesterday. The decluttering bug hit hard! 😉

  7. This is interesting, I had no idea DSW had a shoe recycling program! There isn’t a store close to me, but there are a couple in cities I visit. I’ll have to put some shoes I’m ready to part with in a bag in my car trunk. Thanks for the info!

  8. I’ve never tried a recycling program because I wear my shoes until they’re worn out, so I wouldn’t feel comfortable donating them to a program where someone else was going to wear the things.

    Still, it’s cool that you had some shoes that were in good enough shape to donate. And that you got points for it.

  9. We found a textiles recycling bin nearby and that’s where our shoes have been going but I’m willing to go to the DSW instead! Not just because I can’t reach the textiles bin when I’m by myself, it’s best for people 6 feet tall.

  10. Tre

    Thanks for sharing this. I had no idea DSW recycled shoes. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with our massive collection of nearly new shoes. I swear teenage boys’ feet grow two sizes overnight!

    • I think I’m going to reach out to them and see what they do with shoes that don’t mean the “gentle” criteria. I wonder if they just trash them…or if they do recycle them. I’ll report back if I hear anything!

  11. Joanna

    Is there a maximum amount of shoes that you can donate for points? I am cleaning out my closet due to moving and have about 15+ good condition shoes that I would like to take but not sure if there’s a certain amount?

    • You can donate one pair for points at a time. I believe it’s set up so you can earn 50 points a day. Usually, I drop off a few pairs at once 😀 Hope this helps!

      • Will

        Did they change it weekly this week? I dropped a pair off last night (11/19), but noticed the points hadn’t posted yet. Weird since the past two days I dropped off a pair and noticed they showed up immediately in my account.

        • I haven’t heard of any changes. Did you reach out to your store? Maybe something didn’t get processed right or maybe there’s a delay on their end?

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