But once you’ve emptied your closet of the clothes you no longer wear, what should you do with them?

Donating the clothes to someone in need is one great option. But as fast fashion brands come under more scrutiny for the industry’s impact on carbon emissions and landfill waste, some brands are trying to make it easier for customers to reuse the old rather than make more of the new.

More and more retailers have started sustainability initiatives designed to recycle old clothes, and many offer some extra money to participants in the form of discounts, store credits or cash back.

H&M

H&M’s garment collection program accepts any kind of clothing from any brand, in any condition.

When you bring your old clothes to an H&M location and hand it in at the register, the company will give you a “thank-you coupon” that gives you a 15% discount on your next H&M purchase.

American Eagle

Members of American Eagle’s RealRewards program can bring any old pair of jeans into a store for $10 off a new pair of jeans. The jeans turned in don’t need to be from American Eagle to count towards the program.

It’s part of the company’s RealGood initiative to recycle polyester, nylon and cotton and reduce water use, among other sustainability efforts.

The North Face

Members of the North Face’s XPLR Pass program can bring used North Face gear into a store and get a $10 credit to use toward their next online or in-store purchase.

According to the company, gear turned into the program will be “inspected, washed, tuned up and ready to be resold to hit the trail—again,” the website says. “If your gear can’t be repaired, we’ll recycle or donate it as part of our commitment to circularity.”

Madewell

If you have old jeans of any brand, you can bring them into any Madewell store location, and the clothing chain will either resell your old pants or recycle them into housing insulation.

Customers get $20 the next pair of jeans bought from Madewell after trading a pair in. It’s not stackable on the same pair of pants — no $40 discounts on one pair of jeans if you bring in two pairs — but you do get the same $20 discount toward each individual jeans purchase for every trade-in.

You can also mail in jeans and other clothing made out of any fabric for store credit with a Clean Out Kit. Get more info on that here.

Carter’s

Kid-and-baby clothing brand Carter’s will let you recycle any brand of kid’s clothing for free through their TerraCycle program.

The program doesn’t accept shoes or accessories, but Rewarding Moments members can earn points toward future purchases every they send a box in.

Levi’s

If you make an appointment at a participating Levi’s location, you can trade in your Levi’s jeans and Trucker Jackets for a credit ranging “from $5 to $35 based on your item’s age, condition and original retail price,” the store’s website says.

If your clothes aren’t in good enough condition to resell, you won’t get a gift card, but the denim retailer will “donate or properly dispose of your items” for you.

Gap

Gap has a partnership with ThredUp, a popular online clothing reseller, that helps their customers get shopping credit on certain Gap items.

You can print a free shipping label and fill a box with “quality pre-loved items from any brand” to get the credit. The amount of credit you get depends on how many of the items in that box get sold on ThredUp within a certain amount of time, the quality of the items, and the brand of those items — but there’s a chance to get big money back.

See the full breakdown on the initiative’s website.

Universal Standard

Universal Standard is known for its size-inclusive clothing, which ranges from 0 to 40. Now the brand aims to be more sustainable.

Customers can order a bag for under $5 and fill it with up to four pieces of clothing from any brand, then mail it back and get a reward of up to $100 off their next Universal Standard order.

The textiles from the old clothes get turned into “everyday necessities – old cottons will become yarn used for manufacturing new pieces and polyesters will turn into pellets used for manufacturing plastic household goods.”

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Uniqlo

If you’re a regular Uniqlo customer, you can bring old Uniqlo clothing to a “RE.Uniqlo” box in some Uniqlo stores.

The company will then “deliver them to people in need worldwide in the form of emergency clothing aid for refugee camps and disaster areas together with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), NGOs, and NPO,” or recycle unwearable clothes into other materials.

Customers don’t get a store credit for returning their old items, but you can learn more about the program here.

Soma

Lingerie brand Soma has donated bras to women experiencing homelessness and poverty for years. Now customers can trade in any new or gently used bras at any store and get up to $10 off a purchase every month.

Learn more about the program here.

Patagonia

Patagonia lets customers trade in old Patagonia clothing and outdoor gear for “up to 50% of the resale price through credit” at any Patagonia or Worn Wear store, in person and online.

If your old stuff can’t be reused, the company will either return it to you or recycle it for you to keep the materials out of landfills.

There are some limits to what you can trade in, but you can learn more or print out the $7 flat rate shipping label here.

Reformation

Reformation, a high-end sustainable clothing brand is now paying customers with store credit to turn in their old Reformation items.

The retailer will break down old clothes, shoes, bags and activewear into fibers and materials to then make new items, using as few new materials as possible.

Customers can drop off items in-store or print a free shipping label. Most items will get you about $10. Learn more here.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Joel Jacobs is getting ready to graduate from law school, and like millions of Americans, he’s concerned about paying off his student debt.

“How to get through the rest of law school, D.C. with rising rents, it’s really expensive, just making ends meet,” he said. “… Savings, budget, really just figuring out income with being a full-time student. It’s just a lot to balance.”

Jacobs heard about the D.C. government’s free financial empowerment services, where any District resident — regardless of age or income — can meet face-to-face with a certified financial counselor.

“Learning how to utilize credit is something that we see a lot,” said financial counselor Quiana English. “Also, generational wealth. You know, people want to leave something behind. They want to have assets that they can leave for their family. So being able to work on their finances now and save for that future is something that we help a lot of people with.”

More than 1,000 D.C. residents have already used the free financial counseling since Mayor Muriel Bowser launched the program two years ago. It’s available on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library downtown at 901 G St. NW.

“We’ll do an intake session with an individual, find out what their goals and objectives are, do a credit background check with them, so that they can have an opportunity to read their credit report and see what’s going on there, as well as to talk about their budget and how they can enhance their finances,” said Michelle Hammonds, director of the D.C. Office of Financial Empowerment.

She said these topics aren’t discussed on a daily basis.

“So we don’t expect you to know everything,” Hammonds said. “So there are professionals that can help you, and please let them do that. Don’t be ashamed. Please don’t let your finances go into ruin because you are afraid to talk to someone.”

English points to one easy exercise: simply going line by line through your bank and credit card statements to see where you’re spending your money

“If you want to just bring in your bank statements to your financial counselor, we’ll do the highlighters,” she said. “We’ll say, ‘OK, all the orange, those can go. All the yellow, we need to keep those.’ So we’ll actually go through the process to show you exactly what you’re spending. And once you know that, you have the power. You have the power to control your finances at that point.”

D.C. residents can sign up for the free counseling by contacting the D.C. Department of Insurance Securities and Banking by calling 202-682-6572 or emailing FEC@upo.org.

Susan’s been working as a consumer reporter for years, and that means people stop and ask her questions a lot.

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Coworkers and viewers often stop her to ask a quick question about their personal finances, product recalls, recent scams — you name a viral consumer-related question, Susan’s probably heard it and is already looking for the answer herself.

Which brings us to her new social media video series: Quick Question Susan. If you’ve got a question about your money, the products you use or something else that Susan might be able to help you with, ask us!

You can use the submission form below. The answer to your question might appear on our socials or on the air!

Susan's Working 4 You

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Help paying utility bills in DC, Maryland or Virginia

First, there’s the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP). This program helps with outstanding energy bills.

“What LIHEAP does, it provides grants to eligible residents who may need assistance with paying their utility bill,” Pepco’s Ronni McTier told us. “This can include homeowners. It can include renters. It can include people who are rooming.”

LIHEAP is a federally funded program based on income eligibility. The grant amount varies on where you live. Payments are made directly to the utility company and are applied to your account.

“And these are grants that they do not have to pay back,” McTier said.

Don’t assume you’re not eligible based on your income. These programs can raise eligibility income limits, so it’s better to apply, go through the process and let the agency determine your eligibility.

To learn where to apply, go to LIHEAP.org. Then select your state and county to be directed to your local handling agency.

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Help paying water bills in DC, Maryland or Virginia

Now to your water bill: For assistance, you can apply to the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). This program works similar to LIHEAP, provides grants to low-income households with past-due water bills.

To apply in the District, contact the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.

In Maryland, visit myMDTHINK.Maryland.gov.

And in Virginia, the program is administered by the Virginia Department of Social Services.

Congress created this program during the pandemic. Funding for the program expired last year, but some states still have money remaining. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis or until funding runs out.

Several U.S. senators are asking Congress to continue funding LHIWAP for the 2024 fiscal year.

But once you’ve emptied your closet of the clothes you no longer wear, what should you do with them?

Donating the clothes to someone in need is one great option. But as fast fashion brands come under more scrutiny for the industry’s impact on carbon emissions and landfill waste, some brands are trying to make it easier for customers to reuse the old rather than make more of the new.

More and more retailers have started sustainability initiatives designed to recycle old clothes, and many offer some extra money to participants in the form of discounts, store credits or cash back.

H&M

H&M’s garment collection program accepts any kind of clothing from any brand, in any condition.

When you bring your old clothes to an H&M location and hand it in at the register, the company will give you a “thank-you coupon” that gives you a 15% discount on your next H&M purchase.

American Eagle

Members of American Eagle’s RealRewards program can bring any old pair of jeans into a store for $10 off a new pair of jeans. The jeans turned in don’t need to be from American Eagle to count towards the program.

It’s part of the company’s RealGood initiative to recycle polyester, nylon and cotton and reduce water use, among other sustainability efforts.

The North Face

Members of the North Face’s XPLR Pass program can bring used North Face gear into a store and get a $10 credit to use toward their next online or in-store purchase.

According to the company, gear turned into the program will be “inspected, washed, tuned up and ready to be resold to hit the trail—again,” the website says. “If your gear can’t be repaired, we’ll recycle or donate it as part of our commitment to circularity.”

Madewell

If you have old jeans of any brand, you can bring them into any Madewell store location, and the clothing chain will either resell your old pants or recycle them into housing insulation.

Customers get $20 the next pair of jeans bought from Madewell after trading a pair in. It’s not stackable on the same pair of pants — no $40 discounts on one pair of jeans if you bring in two pairs — but you do get the same $20 discount toward each individual jeans purchase for every trade-in.

You can also mail in jeans and other clothing made out of any fabric for store credit with a Clean Out Kit. Get more info on that here.

Carter’s

Kid-and-baby clothing brand Carter’s will let you recycle any brand of kid’s clothing for free through their TerraCycle program.

The program doesn’t accept shoes or accessories, but Rewarding Moments members can earn points toward future purchases every they send a box in.

Levi’s

If you make an appointment at a participating Levi’s location, you can trade in your Levi’s jeans and Trucker Jackets for a credit ranging “from $5 to $35 based on your item’s age, condition and original retail price,” the store’s website says.

If your clothes aren’t in good enough condition to resell, you won’t get a gift card, but the denim retailer will “donate or properly dispose of your items” for you.

Gap

Gap has a partnership with ThredUp, a popular online clothing reseller, that helps their customers get shopping credit on certain Gap items.

You can print a free shipping label and fill a box with “quality pre-loved items from any brand” to get the credit. The amount of credit you get depends on how many of the items in that box get sold on ThredUp within a certain amount of time, the quality of the items, and the brand of those items — but there’s a chance to get big money back.

See the full breakdown on the initiative’s website.

Universal Standard

Universal Standard is known for its size-inclusive clothing, which ranges from 0 to 40. Now the brand aims to be more sustainable.

Customers can order a bag for under $5 and fill it with up to four pieces of clothing from any brand, then mail it back and get a reward of up to $100 off their next Universal Standard order.

The textiles from the old clothes get turned into “everyday necessities – old cottons will become yarn used for manufacturing new pieces and polyesters will turn into pellets used for manufacturing plastic household goods.”

Science 4 Everyone Aug 17

Science 4 Everyone: Why you should wear light-colored clothes in summer

Working 4 You May 3

DC is entering the sweaty time of year. Here are 4 tips to make sure your wardrobe keeps you cool

Sustainability Apr 23

Meet the Gen Z-ers slowing down fast fashion by promoting sustainable clothing

Uniqlo

If you’re a regular Uniqlo customer, you can bring old Uniqlo clothing to a “RE.Uniqlo” box in some Uniqlo stores.

The company will then “deliver them to people in need worldwide in the form of emergency clothing aid for refugee camps and disaster areas together with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), NGOs, and NPO,” or recycle unwearable clothes into other materials.

Customers don’t get a store credit for returning their old items, but you can learn more about the program here.

Soma

Lingerie brand Soma has donated bras to women experiencing homelessness and poverty for years. Now customers can trade in any new or gently used bras at any store and get up to $10 off a purchase every month.

Learn more about the program here.

Patagonia

Patagonia lets customers trade in old Patagonia clothing and outdoor gear for “up to 50% of the resale price through credit” at any Patagonia or Worn Wear store, in person and online.

If your old stuff can’t be reused, the company will either return it to you or recycle it for you to keep the materials out of landfills.

There are some limits to what you can trade in, but you can learn more or print out the $7 flat rate shipping label here.

Reformation

Reformation, a high-end sustainable clothing brand is now paying customers with store credit to turn in their old Reformation items.

The retailer will break down old clothes, shoes, bags and activewear into fibers and materials to then make new items, using as few new materials as possible.

Customers can drop off items in-store or print a free shipping label. Most items will get you about $10. Learn more here.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

The Maryland resident had always dreamed of owning a Range Rover, and 21 years ago, she bought a used one at a dealership in Fairfax, Virginia.

She paid $85,000 for the SUV, which had just 2,900 miles on it and was “basically brand new,” she said. The Range Rover was pricey, but Dallas said it was worth the investment. She owns a popcorn business and used the SUV to drive her products up and down the East Coast.

“Single woman, single business owner on the road — you want a reliable car,” she said.

The Range Rover was so reliable that she kept it for years, updating her Maryland registration as required, and putting on more than 100,000 miles.

But in 2021, as it came time to renew her registration again, her dream car was about to become her biggest nightmare.

“She says, ‘You can’t register this car because it’s titled in Florida’,” Dallas recalled being told. “And I was like, ‘Well, how is it titled in Florida? I have the title for it.'”

Maryland’s Department of Transportation immediately opened an investigation. After inspecting Dallas’ car, they discovered the VIN had been tampered with and replaced with a fake one. When they ran the actual VIN through a database, they discovered Dallas’ beloved Rover had been reported stolen — 20 years earlier in Florida.

The news got worse for Dallas. She said Prince George’s County police told her the original owners filed a theft claim with their insurance company and were paid, which means she never legally owned the car; the insurance company did.

“Within five minutes, the police officers took my vehicle from where I had it parked and left the tags,” Dallas said.

She said police told her the dealership where she purchased the car had bought it at an auction, but they were unable to find out why it was sold to her with a stolen VIN. The dealership had changed ownership twice over the years.

The dealership’s new owners, according to Dallas, brushed her off when she first contacted them.

“No one cared and no one showed any remorse. And no one seems to think that anyone requires any accountability for it,” she said.

In the meantime, since the insurance company never came to take possession of the Range Rover after it was towed from her home, Dallas said police sent it to a scrapyard.

So how did it go undetected for so many years that the SUV had been stolen?

According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, it wasn’t until 2021 that Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration updated its system, allowing the department to get real-time notifications on flagged vehicles that were damaged, unsafe, stolen or titled in another state through the national motor vehicle title information system.

So when Dallas tried renewing her registration that same year, the system did what it was designed to do.

“Many of these DMVs until recently have been operating on 40-year-old mainframe technology,” said Ian Grossman of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which operates the database.

Grossman says criminals use VIN cloning to mask stolen and damaged vehicles.

“It’s when you’re trying to hide one VIN of the vehicle, you go out and you find a good VIN — vehicle identification number— and clone it, just like you would clone anything,” he said.

It turns out that it’s not that difficult to get a replacement VIN sticker or tag plate made. News4 Responds found numerous websites where we could purchase them, which means so can scammers.

Stolen vehicle information is generally restricted only to law enforcement use, which makes it hard for consumers to check before they buy a car. But there are ways you can protect yourself from VIN fraud if you are planning on buying a used car.

How to Protect Yourself From VIN Fraud

• First, make sure to inspect the vehicle’s VIN stickers and plate, to see if there are any marks or etches on it. This could indicate that the number has been overwritten or tampered with.
• Look up the VIN on a site such as Carfax that offers a report at a cost. Make sure the description matches the vehicle you plan to purchase.
• And the VIN should be the same everywhere it’s identified, including in paperwork and on the vehicle.
• You could also try to check a VIN for insurance theft claims at nicb.org/vincheck.

Dallas called it all a “learning experience.”

There is some good news for her: News4 Responds reached out to the dealership, and although they did not respond to us, they did contact Dallas, who told us the matter has been resolved.

With dozens of egg options at different prices, including for cage-free, free range and organic, what does it all mean, and is it worth paying more? Consumer Reports helped explain.

“A lot of these terms on egg cartons don’t really have any defined meaning, and if you’re going to pay a premium price for eggs, you want to make sure you’re getting what you think you’re getting,” Consumer Reports editor Trisha Calvo said.

Farm Fresh, Natural and Hormone-Free: These are all labels you can ignore, Calvo said.

“All eggs are from farms, and all eggs are natural, so ‘farm fresh’ and ‘natural’ really have no clear meaning. And, by law, chickens can’t be given hormones. So a carton of eggs that has these claims isn’t really any different from a carton that doesn’t,” she said.

Cage-Free: This term also can be misleading. While it’s true the hens aren’t kept in cages, they can still be kept indoors, often in crowded conditions.

Free Range: This label also is dubious, Calvo said.

“Free range birds aren’t kept in cages, and they do have outdoor access, but they can still be raised in crowded conditions, and the outdoor area can be very tiny,” she said.

Organic: If eggs have an organic seal, it means the eggs were laid by hens that were fed grains grown without most synthetic pesticides or GMOs. The birds cannot be raised in cages and must have outdoor access — though that could still mean confined conditions in a building with just a small concrete porch.

Pasture Raised: This term on its own isn’t meaningful. But if it’s paired with the certified humane label, you can be sure the chickens had access to a pasture with space to peck for seeds and bugs.

Bottom line: If it’s important to you to buy pasture-raised eggs, be prepared to pay more — likely well over $5 per dozen.