In Time for Earth Day: Foxcroft and Vivaterra Partner with Goodwill® and Give Back Box

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In recognition of Earth Day 2016 on April 22, Goodwill is pleased to announce the addition of two retailers to the successful Give Back Box platform, which provides consumers with an effortless option for donating used clothing and textiles.

With Give Back Box, consumers can reuse their shipping boxes, attach a pre-paid shipping label — downloaded at www.goodwill.org/givebackbox or on their preferred retailer's website — and send clothing and household items they no longer need directly to Goodwill. This innovative, turnkey solution supports Goodwill's mission to help people find work and strengthen their families, while promoting a healthier environment. It not only keeps cardboard boxes used to ship online orders out of community landfills, it also boosts textile recycling rates.

Foxcroft has been devoted to creating stylish women's wear for 30 years with a focus on impeccable fit and quality fabrics. VivaTerra, which means "living earth," is dedicated to providing beautiful, expertly crafted home goods, from furniture to textiles, that are made using eco-conscious, sustainable practices. Foxcroft and VivaTerra join an impressive roster of retailers using the Give Back Box platform, including ASICS, Ann Taylor, Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, Younkers, Dockers, Levi's, LOFT, Overstock.com, and Style Up Girl.

"We're pleased to add Foxcroft and VivaTerra to our growing list of participating Give Back Box retailers," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "By promoting Give Back Box to their consumers, these well-established brands are signaling their support for the environment and encouraging customers to provide donations that are crucial to our efforts to support job seekers, and strengthening families and communities."

How Give Back Box works:

• Consumers download a pre-paid Give Back Box shipping label from participating retailers' websites or from www.goodwill.org/givebackbox.
• The label is affixed to the box in which consumers received a recent online order, or to any other suitable shipping box.
• The box is filled with donations of used clothing and household items and shipped free to a nearby Goodwill processing center.

Give Back Box Benefits:

• Reduces cardboard waste and recycling burden:

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 4 million tons of corrugated boxes are discarded and landfilled each year. The Give Back Box platform gives new purpose to cardboard shipping boxes by keeping approximately 10,300 boxes of donated goods out of the waste stream and recycling system on a weekly basis.

• Addresses America's serious and growing textile waste problem:

According to the Council on Textile Recycling, Americans generate 25 billion tons of textile waste, including clothing, footwear, accessories and linens, each year — that's 82 pounds per person, and represents a 40 percent increase between 1999 and 2009. While the majority of textile waste is recyclable, only 15 percent is currently donated or recycled.

• Reduces time and effort required to make a valuable Goodwill donation:

Each year, Goodwill diverts more than 3 billion pounds of donated goods from landfills. With Give Back Box, consumers can make crucial donations to Goodwill without leaving their homes, lending invaluable support to the environment, to Goodwill and to their local communities.

To calculate the impact of Goodwill donations, consumers can visit the Donation Impact Calculator on the Goodwill website. To learn more about the Give Back Box, visit www.goodwill.org/givebackbox

About Goodwill Industries International
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 164 community-based organizations in the United States and Canada with a presence in 13 other countries. Goodwill is one of America's top 20 most inspiring companies (Forbes, 2014). Goodwill organizations are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 3,100 stores and online at shopgoodwill.com^®. Local Goodwill organizations also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food services preparation, and document imaging and shredding. Last year, Goodwill placed 312,000 people in employment in the United States and Canada. In addition, more than 35 million people used computers and mobile devices to access Goodwill education, training, mentoring and online learning services to strengthen their skills. To learn more, visit goodwill.org.

For more information or to find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at Goodwill.org or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl and @GoodwillCapHill, and find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl

About Foxcroft
For over 30 years, we've made it our mission to craft clothing built on ease and polish. Our story begins with a single shirt and a vision. The classic button-down, custom made for women. From perfecting the fit to adding signature details that make a Foxcroft shirt stand out from the rest, we didn't stop until we got it right.

The same commitment means we've made keeping up with evolving lifestyles a top priority. We built our own state-of-the-art facilities to develop exclusive non-iron technologies and fabrics with benefits you won't find anywhere else. So every Foxcroft style works harder, performs better and looks impeccable longer.

Today, Foxcroft offers a full range of fashions designed in New York City to meet the needs of the modern woman. Because we believe that effortless is more than a buzzword, it's a way of life.

About VivaTerra
VivaTerra was born on the coast of California in 2004 from a vision to provide an eco-friendly décor option at a time when there were few available. Our founders held a passionate belief that there was no need to compromise natural resources or environmental health in pursuit of a beautiful home. In 2014, during our 10th anniversary, VivaTerra was relocated to the East Coast in Virginia.

Today, VivaTerra continues its mission to help you transform your home into a natural sanctuary filled with beautiful, uncompromising products. We source from and support artisan communities in more than 20 countries across the globe, as well as seek out fairtrade partners and sustainable methods of production. Our product selection continues to grow and evolve, while maintaining an assortment that makes us the source for contemporary, culturally inspired eco-style.

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SOURCE Goodwill Industries International