Today, we’re looking at a wonderful organization called Give Back Box. The premise is simple. When a box arrives with your purchases, you can fill it with whatever you have around the house that you no longer use – clothing, linens, shoes, etc. Then you go on the Give Back Box website, choose a charity, print a free shipping label, and leave the box at either a USPS or UPS dropoff. If you require a receipt, you can print that when you print the label, and if you prefer, you can even schedule a free pickup!

“Give Back Box® was founded in 2012 by Monika Wiela, who at the time was running an online shoe store. The idea was inspired by a homeless man she encountered in Chicago, who was holding up a sign saying he needed a pair of shoes. Wiela returned later that day with shoes for him, but he was gone. She spent that night thinking about what she could do with all the empty boxes in her warehouse and also help people like that man, and a new social enterprise was born. As Wiela researched further, she learned that, an estimated 11 million tons of clothing, footwear, towels, bedding, drapery, and other textiles end up in U.S. landfills every year. In addition, online shopping is now the preferred method for much of the buying public. Corrugated boxes are the dominant packaging method for e-commerce. With this knowledge, Wiela’s mission crystalized. If online retailers would use Give Back Box, shipping boxes and other items could be used a second time prior to being recycled. The impact would be remarkable.”

Give Back Box is now operating in the U.K. and Canada as well as in the U.S. How wonderful!

I will be reposting this next November after my gift guide to remind us all that we can reuse the boxes in which our holiday shopping arrives, but in the meantime, it seems like a good habit to start practicing in 2026!

You can check out Give Back Box on their website and on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.