#36: Spring Cleaning
There are more responsible ways to clean out your closet than others. Here are our tips for a successful (and sustainable!) closet clean out this spring.
Cleaning out your closet can feel like a daunting task—from actually deciding which items you want to get rid of to knowing where to send those items to ensure they’re properly re-used, recycled, or donated.
Lucky for you, we’re all about making your life easier at Beni, so we put together a short guide to streamline the task and help you unleash your inner Marie Kondo in no time.
💰️ Sell
Reselling is a great way to give new life to clothes that are still in good condition...and make some extra money in the process. thredUP is a great option for first-time resellers because you can send a bunch of items at once, and the thredUP team will list your items on your behalf. Plus, they'll give you $15 instant thredUP shopping credit if you send your Clean Out Kit back within 30 days.
🤝 Swap
According to the Every Girl, clothing swaps are trending (if you need proof just look up “clothing swap party” on TikTok). Swaps are fun because aside from the snacks and beverages you might end up buying, they’re completely free. Just show up with items that you no longer wear and shop pieces from your friends’ closets! Ready to host one? Check out the Every Girl’s guide to throwing a clothing swap party of your own.
🤲 Donate
This is a tricky one because, in spite of people’s best intentions, most donated clothing ends up abroad in a landfill. That’s not to say you shouldn’t donate your clothes, but you might want to do some research before simply dropping your clothes off at the nearest donation bin. Give Back Box is one of our favs: just reuse your online shipping boxes to donate gently used clothing, shoes, etc., and they’ll send you a prepaid label to send the box to one of the charities they support.
♻️ Recycle
For the pieces that have run their course, and can’t be sold, swapped or donated — recycle! Trashie offers an easy way to ensure your items are properly recycled and keeps 90% of clothing sent to them out of landfills. Plus, you can earn “Trashie Cash” for sending your clothes, including gift cards, beauty products, travel experiences, and more.
Want more insider tips and updates as we build the future of fashion? Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter and follow along!
Beni users, we want your thoughts:
ICYMI: we're building a Resale Map of all the best U.S. thrift, vintage and consignment stores by city and need your help!
As avid Beni users, we've gotten extremely good at thrifting online, but when it comes to thrifting in-person, we only know a few places in our respective cities.
So, whether you're a frequenter of these stores or have simply heard about some from friends who are, please take a few seconds to fill out this form, and we'll share our map with you when it's ready!
You asked. We answered.
Something we were recently asked: Why is it so complicated to set up the mobile extension?
Answer: Look—we get it. Due to Apple’s privacy laws, mobile extensions require a LOT of steps to set up, but they’re really easy to use after this initial hurdle!
As far as Beni is concerned, the simplest solution is to stick to the Beni Chrome desktop extension because it requires wayyyy less steps to set up. But, if you want to see the best resale deals while you shop on your phone, here’s how to set up and use the Beni mobile extension. If you’re still having trouble setting up the mobile extension, sign up for a first-time user interview with a member of our team, so we can get you up and shopping resale in no time!
Have another question? Just ask. Simply reply to this email and we’ll get back to you ASAP (and potentially include it in a future newsletter). Someone else is probably thinking the same thing and they will thank you for it!
Finds from Team Beni:
You may have noticed 👀, but the Beni mobile app got a pretty big makeover this week (consider this your sign to update it if you haven’t already!). One of the cooler features is we can now share all of the amazing finds we come across every day with you!
To see these finds and more, go to the homepage of the app and scroll down until you see “Finds from Team Beni.”
We’re planning to make them more thematic in the future, but in the meantime, you’ll see general summer finds, with a slight emphasis on red, white and blue as we gear up for Memorial Day.
Why we do what we do (Reason #127)
Absolutely LOVED getting this message earlier this week. Always feel free to DM us on Instagram or leave us a review in the app store because it makes our day!
Community Spotlight: Teleport
Who they are: A video-first marketplace to buy and sell from outfit videos.
What they’re good for: Y2K, vintage, upcycled, handmade and unique fashion.
Why we’re talking about them: The founder, Danielle Vermeer, recently went viral for calling out cheap brands (aka fast fashion retailers) for the amount of polyester in their clothes.
For those who don’t know, polyester is the most widely used fiber in the world, and it’s plastic, so it’s not biodegradable. It also requires large quantities of water to produce, and the dyes used to dye polyester pollute waterways.
We won’t belabor the sustainability implications of polyester, but want to leave you with Danielle’s simple cheat sheet for picking out better brands when you shop: “the cheaper the brand, the more polyester they use.”
Coming up with Beni…
May: We’re conducting coffee chats with new Beni users to get feedback and understand how we can improve the first-time user flow! Sign up for a Zoom interview here, and we’ll Venmo you $5 for a coffee.
May: In honor of our birthday month, we made our affiliate Beni-fits even better. Sign up for our Friends with Beni-fits program to start earning rewards today!
May 17th: It’s our company’s birthday, which feels like a great excuse to celebrate! Stay tuned for some fun plans we have in the works.
June: We’re hiring Product Marketing Summer interns! If you or someone you know wants to help us build and promote a new Beni feature and shape overall user-experience, apply here!
June 4th: We’re co-hosting a pop-up event during NY Tech Week where we’ll be spotlighting the companies building the future of fashion. RSVP here!
Beni BTS…
Cath scored some “new with tags” Ultra Mini Platform Ugg boots with Beni for 50% off!
