The Paired Shoe Brigade is a simple and effective way to repurpose your old shoes while earning rewards for your organization or charity of choice. So instead of throwing out your used shoes, send them to TerraCycle and give them a second life!
TerraCycle is excited to offer rewards for each pair of shoes you ship. For all compliant shipments of shoes over 25 pounds, each pair will receive two TerraCycle points which can be redeemed for a variety of charitable gifts, or for a payment of $0.01 per point to the non-profit organization or school of your choice. Please click here to learn more about the TerraCycle Points Program!
Participating in a TerraCycle Brigade is totally free! There are no signup or participation fees, and the shipping is covered by the program. Once you have joined the Paired Shoe Brigade, simply follow the steps below to receive your TerraCycle points:
- Collect enough acceptable pairs of shoes (acceptable and unacceptable shoes are listed below) and fill up a shipping box or bag. Remember to reuse a shipping box or bag to be eco-friendly. And please note, in order to receive TerraCycle points, you must ship at least 25 pounds of paired shoes.
- Download a free shipping label from terracycle.com. To acquire a pre-paid label, simply access your TerraCycle account online, and click “SHIP US YOUR WASTE.” You can print them out yourself or request that TerraCycle send the label.
- Ship the box to TerraCycle by affixing the pre-paid postage label and dropping it off at a UPS location.
For more detailed information please check out the Paired Shoe Brigade FAQ.
And to make collecting all your waste that much easier, download our helpful TerraCycle "Collect, Store and Ship Guide" for some tips and tricks that will make the collection process simple and mess-free. Also check out our Paired Shoe Brigade Poster to help promote your efforts at your collection location.
Paired Shoe Brigade accepted waste: pairs of women’s, men’s, and children’s shoes, which may include athletic sneakers, cleats, flats, high heels, dress shoes, boots, and fashion or casual sneakers.
Check out the image below to see some examples of the types of waste that are NOT accepted through this Brigade program. You can also download this as a poster.
Paired Shoe Brigade UNACCEPTABLE waste:
- Completely broken or ruined footwear (there shouldn't be any holes)
- Single shoes (even if they're in perfect condition)
- Roller blades or roller skates
- Ski boots or snowboarding boots
- Ice skates
- Sandals
- Slippers