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Secondhand Fashion: Online Used Clothing Stores Good for the Wallet and Planet

Jan 31, 2022 09:30AM ● By Sandra Yeyati
Person lying on couch shopping second hand items online through phone

stokkete/AdobeStock.com

The online commerce of used clothing is booming. According to thredUP, a prominent virtual consignment and thrift store, the secondhand market is projected to double in the next five years, reaching a whopping $77 billion. “The pandemic and resulting economic downturn boosted this surge,” says Hyejune Park, Ph.D., associate professor of fashion merchandising at Oklahoma State University. “Stuck at home in 2020, people looked into their closets, found items they no longer wore or wanted and went online to sell and buy clothes to save money.” 

Popular Resale Platforms

Younger, tech-savvy shoppers are the principle drivers of this growth, and a host of apps and websites are responding to the demand, including UK-based marketplace Depop, which caters to cash-strapped Generation Z and millennial shoppers, and Poshmark, a leading social marketplace boasting 80 million users across the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Several well-known platforms serve vintage and luxury brand consumers worldwide, offering authentication guarantees to reassure buyers about counterfeits. Among them are Santa Monica-based Tradesy, founded by women for women; Paris-based reseller Vestiaire Collective; and The RealReal, out of San Francisco.

Other notable players include brick-and-mortar thrift store Goodwill Industries, which has partnered with resale app OfferUp to upload their inventories; eBay, one of the first online, peer-to-peer marketplaces; and Etsy, featuring vintage and upcycled fashion by smaller shops.

Brand-Name Manufacturers and Retailers React

Many fashion brands are considering or have already formed partnerships with established resale platforms to reach this engaged, younger demographic of shoppers. For example, Gucci is partnering with The RealReal, while Adidas is working with thredUP. In 2021, Poshmark launched their Brand Closets initiative, inviting branded manufacturers to interact with their users and opening the platform to sell a combination of used and new fashion. “The fact that all this is happening is an indication that we’re witnessing a new wave of e-commerce,” Park says. “I don’t think it’s a temporary boom. From a retail business perspective, this is a huge trend that will go mainstream and continue to grow.”

Other brands are launching resale operations in-house, such as Levi’s SecondHand and fast-fashion giant H&M’s Rewear, claiming to provide a sustainable fashion-buying alternative, but Park cautions, “I’m not confident that secondhand fashion can solve the sustainability issues that fast fashion has created over the past decade. Depending on how brands are participating in their resale operations, it could be a greenwash claim—just another way to make sales and reach more consumers.” Notably, H&M’s Conscious Collection that is marketed as sustainably-made clothing caters to only a small fraction of its customers, suggesting that the company cares less about environmental impacts and more about satisfying a segment of its customer base. 

In contrast, Park says, Patagonia’s resale program is an enviable environmental example. “Patagonia began running their Worn Wear resale campaign long before this secondhand shopping boom. They educate consumers about how to take care of their gear, offer alteration services and encourage the long-term wear and resale of their clothes,” she explains.

The Secondhand Surge and the Environment

thredUP’s marketing materials assert that by extending the life of used clothing, fewer new garments need to be produced, helping to reduce the carbon, waste and water footprints associated with the production of textiles and apparel. In 2021, Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Poshmark, stated, “Consumers are prioritizing the impact that their purchases have on the environment.”

Park cautions that even though resale platforms tout environmental benefits, consumer behavior will ultimately determine whether the online surge makes a positive environmental impact. In a recent study involving young consumers living in Oklahoma, Park sought to understand why they were choosing to buy and sell secondhand clothing online. Their most prominent motives were saving money and shopping convenience. 

“Not many respondents saw this type of consumption as a way to save the environment,” she laments. “If consumers buy secondhand goods to curtail their spending on new clothes or to find better quality garments than fast fashion, then it will be good for the environment, but if they buy and sell used clothes in addition to their regular shopping as another way to shop for marked-down products, then there will be no environmental benefit.”

To protect the planet, Park advises, the goal should be to buy nothing or buy less. “It’s okay to purchase $10 jeans, but get one pair, not five. Don’t have a one-night-stand relationship with your clothes. Love them, take care of them and wear them until they’re falling apart.”


Sandra Yeyati, J.D., is a professional writer and editor. Reach her at [email protected].

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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