Transparency

We want to be perfectly clear...we know what and how we do things matters. We also want to be upfront that we aren't perfect but we're doing the best we can to make a dent in reducing our impact/footprint. We believe if everyone made swaps and efforts in the ways that are repeatable in their business or lifestyle it would make a big impact.

Where does Take2Trail Inventory come from?

YOU! 
Runner submitted items are sometimes brand new - because we all miss a return date occasionally- sometimes “like new” because you took the tag off, walked out the door and realized the seam hits you in just the wrong place and you don’t want to wear it for an hour but now can’t return it - and sometimes gently used because an item just didn’t make it into your rotation.

Direct from Brands and Retailers
Some of our brand new items come from brand’s overstock, shelf pulls (items that were removed from a store’s floor to make room for an updated version, etc), or return inventory that is too costly for the store or brand to reincorporate into their inventory. There are also occasions when a shoe’s box was damaged and a retailer can’t sell the item, etc. and we find those and pass along that box-less pair to you at a killer discount.

Liquidators
Many stores and brands find themselves with a couple of items that just didn’t sell because they only saw so much traffic from guys that wore size 11 Hokas that shop in store and have an affinity for blue trail shoes…and they sell this inventory to liquidators that then resell through B2B platforms where we find them and score killer deals that we happily pass on to you. We didn’t need to do product research, produce the item, make Speedgoat a household name, etc. and so we can sell that shoe to you for cheaper than anyone else can brand new in the box.

What is Take2Trail doing behind the scenes to operate sustainably?

Shipment Packaging
We encourage everyone mailing things to us to reuse packaging from other purchases, and you will find we reuse packaging as well. Every time a box or poly mailer is used it's environmental impact shrinks. If we are sending you a poly mailer that isn't a re-used item from an incoming shipment, it's a 100% recycled poly mailer made from at least 50%post-consumer waste that is recyclable through film recycling programs. You will also find that if we have taped something closed we use biodegradable kraft paper tape.

Product Packaging
We come into a decent amount of textiles that don't meet our standard to sell to you. Some of those materials make for excellent wraps when tag or roll up items to send your way. That tie wrapped around the shirt you bought? It was probably another shirt that was stained so we didn't want to donate it. Being unable or unwilling to buy new doesn't mean you should have to wear stained garments, but they can definitely be upcycled. 

Product Tags
That cute little tag is make from 10-30% recycled post consumer waste, FSC®-certified virgin silk fiber, manufactured using renewable biogas energy, and is curbside recyclable and compostable. The ink used on the tags is vegetable and algae based, unlike more typical petroleum based inks that have greater environmental impact.

Recycling...all the recycling!
We come into a lot of shoes, packs and garments that we can't resell. Some are in a condition we can donate in good conscience but are just more worn than our gently used standard. For the stuff that appears to be at the end of it's life cycle we have (or are working on) partnerships to recycle footwear, clothing, flasks/bottles/reservoirs, packaging materials, office scraps and just about anything else you can imagine. At the moment, we have the following programs in place:

  • Re_Pak by Hydrapak  is an innovative upcycling program dedicated to transforming old bottles into durable composite construction materials with a lifespan of over 30 years! We collect all squeezable LDPE and PP sports bottles including Polar Bottle, Specialized, CamelBak, UltraAspire, Nathan, Amphipod, Gatorade, and Powerade. Look for the 4 or 5 on your bottle to see if it can be recycled through this program.

  • GotSneakers is a zero waste sneaker recycling program that will take many of the sneakers that we come across at intake events that are too worn to resell or donate. Yes, we may get paid for some of these shoes per the program's guidelines, but the vast majority of what we send in we do not get paid for.

  • Clear Drop soft plastic recycling - we feed our plastic films into a nifty compactor that turns it into a brick we can ship off to an appropriate recycling facility so it actually is recycled, stays out of trees, streams, and landfills. It is not cheap, but we think this really makes a difference.

  • TerraCycle offers an all in one box for mixed recycling we don't know what else to do with. It's expensive...very expensive...but we think it's important to see our mission through so we have one of their boxes for our odds and ends.