Imagery: AI-generated. People depicted are not real individuals.
Most heated apparel brands have a plan for selling you a vest. Almost none have a plan for what happens to the battery inside it years later, when it finally reaches the end of its life.
That gap is where EcoDispose started.
While designing the EarthBae line, one question kept surfacing that the rest of the category seemed content to ignore: what happens to the hardware when its working life is over?
For someone buying their first piece of heated apparel, that's a real gap in trust — and it's the gap EcoDispose was built to close.
The Problem the Category Left Unsolved
A 7.4V lithium battery is a disposal problem the moment it stops holding a charge.
Lithium batteries can't go in household recycling, and they don't belong in the trash. Many municipal hazardous-waste programs technically accept them, but the process is inconvenient enough that most people default to the landfill — which is environmentally damaging and, in a growing number of jurisdictions, against local rules.
The result is a category that sells rechargeable, lithium-powered garments by the thousands and offers no coordinated answer for where those batteries go at end of life. EarthBae built EcoDispose because that answer needed to exist.
What EcoDispose Is
EcoDispose is a free, mail-in recycling program for 7.4V heated-apparel batteries. The process is three steps: request a prepaid shipping label on the EcoDispose page, pack the spent battery according to the instructions, and ship it. EarthBae handles responsible recycling at no cost.
Two things make it work the way the category actually needs.
It's free. No fee to enroll, no cost to ship, no purchase required. The prepaid label covers the return.
It's brand-agnostic.
The battery doesn't have to be an EarthBae battery.
A 7.4V cell from another heated-apparel brand is accepted the same way EarthBae's own is. The environmental consequence of a lithium battery in a landfill doesn't change based on whose logo was on the garment it powered — so the program doesn't either.
That brand-agnostic design is the point. A four-year-old degraded battery is the same disposal problem regardless of where it came from, and EcoDispose treats it that way.
Why a Brand Would Recycle Its Competitors' Batteries
It's a fair question: why would EarthBae take back batteries it didn't sell?
Because a battery in a landfill is a loss for everyone, not just for the brand whose name is on it.
EarthBae would rather help clean up the category than ignore its share of the impact.
Building the infrastructure the whole category needed — and opening it to every 7.4V battery, not just EarthBae's — is how a brand signals it intends to be a long-term steward of the space rather than a short-term seller of a product.
There's a practical reason it's possible, too: EarthBae standardized its entire line on the 7.4V battery, the same de facto standard the broader heated-apparel market runs on.
Because EcoDispose is built around that one battery class, it can accept batteries from across the category without a separate process for each brand.
Built to Be Maintained, Not Discarded
EcoDispose is the end of a longer design philosophy: build hardware worth keeping, then account for it when it finally wears out.
The heating element is built to outlast the battery: highly flexible and corrosion-resistant, and holds its performance across years of flex and wash cycles.
The garment is machine washable (battery removed) and tumble-dries on low. The intent across the whole system is the same — a piece that's maintained over years, with a responsible answer for the one component that does eventually wear out.
The Finish Line Was Designed First
Buying your first piece of heated apparel, you're rightly focused on the immediate win: warmth on the cold morning, the early gym session, the long sideline.
EcoDispose exists so that the end of the story is already handled before you've reached it.
You get the performance of a 7.4V ecosystem from day one, and a closed-loop plan for the battery built in from the start — no separate research, no disposal problem waiting for you years down the road.
The Closed Loop, From First Charge to Last
When you buy a piece of EarthBae apparel, the disposal question is already answered. The day a 7.4V battery — ours or anyone's — finally runs down its cycles, request a prepaid label on the EcoDispose page and ship it back. No fee. No hunting for a hazardous-waste drop-off. No spent battery sitting in a drawer because the responsible path carried too much friction.
That closed loop only works because the whole system was built around one battery class. EarthBae Core, Heat, and Air all run on the same 7.4V battery standard — one charger, one connector, one end-of-life path across heating and cooling alike. EcoDispose is the final link in that chain: the same architectural decision that makes the active thermal regulation ecosystem coherent is what lets a single program take back every battery the category produces.
Build hardware worth keeping. Account for it when it wears out. Open the answer to everyone, not just your own customers. EarthBae built the infrastructure the category needed and opened it to the whole market — because that's what stewardship of a category looks like.
One Ecosystem. Every Climate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is EcoDispose?
EcoDispose is EarthBae's free, brand-agnostic mail-in recycling program for 7.4V heated-apparel batteries. Request a prepaid shipping label on the EcoDispose page, pack your spent battery per the instructions, and ship it — EarthBae handles responsible recycling at no cost, whether or not the battery is an EarthBae battery.
Does the battery have to be an EarthBae battery?
No. EcoDispose accepts any 7.4V heated-apparel battery from any brand. A lithium battery in a landfill is the same environmental problem regardless of who made it, so the program accepts them all on the same terms.
How much does EcoDispose cost?
Nothing. There's no enrollment fee, no shipping cost, and no purchase required. The prepaid return label is provided free through the EcoDispose page.
Why can't I just throw a heated-apparel battery in the trash or household recycling?
Lithium batteries can't go in household recycling and don't belong in the trash — they're a fire and contamination risk and are restricted in a growing number of places. Many municipal hazardous-waste programs accept them, but the process is often inconvenient enough that batteries end up in the landfill anyway. EcoDispose exists to make the responsible path the easy one.
How long does a 7.4V heated-apparel battery last before it needs recycling?
A 7.4V battery is generally rated for about 300 to 500 charge cycles — roughly two to four years of regular use — before its capacity degrades enough to warrant replacement. EarthBae sells the batteries as standalone replacements, so at end of life you replace the battery and recycle the old one through EcoDispose, rather than replacing the whole garment.
Related Reading:
The 7.4V Battery: Heated and Cooling Apparel Guide — the one battery standard EcoDispose is built on.
Heated Apparel Battery Recycling: How EcoDispose Works — the step-by-step on which batteries qualify and how the mail-in process works.
What Is Active Thermal Regulation? The New Apparel Category — the category hub for heating and cooling on one battery.
How to Choose the Best Heated Vest (2026) — how to pick a vest, including its end-of-life plan. (/blogs/journal/best-heated-vest)
Sources: EPA guidance that used lithium-ion batteries should not be placed in household trash or municipal recycling bins, and can ignite when crushed or compacted in waste systems — US EPA, "Used Lithium-Ion Batteries," updated March 2026. Growing state-level disposal bans and producer-stewardship (EPR) requirements for rechargeable batteries — Call2Recycle state-law map; New York NYSDEC Rechargeable Battery Recycling; Washington SB 5144; California AB 2440; and new 2026 battery-EPR laws across Colorado, Oregon, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Vermont, and Washington (Waste Dive, January 2026). Consumer recycling locators — Call2Recycle and Earth911. 7.4V battery class and 300–500 charge-cycle service life (~2–4 years of typical use) — EarthBae product specifications and the EcoDispose page.
Last updated June 29, 2026.