Trends in Sustainable Retailing

We spend our lives chasing the latest thing, but the $350 billion goldmine is in what we throw away. Every year, we throw away enough fabric to clothe millions, and India generates 8.5% of global textile waste annually. For decades, we saw this as the ugly side of being the world's textile hub. But something remarkable is happening. Here are the 3 practices that are quietly changing our waste problem into an economic revolution: 1/ Regenerative farming is changing everything for cotton farmers. Look at what happened in Aurangabad: → 6,000+ farmers switched from chemical fertilizers to natural methods, cutting costs while improving soil health → Digital training helps them track crop growth in real time, sharing data with buyers directly → Healthier soil means crops survive droughts better, giving farmers a steady income throughout the year → The Ministry of Agriculture is now scaling this to one million hectares. Farmers, manufacturers, and global brands are finally working together. 2/ Traceability has become the new currency.  → With 37% of consumers demanding proof of sustainability, our Kasturi Cotton initiative gives India an edge. The upcoming India-UK FTA (Free Trade Agreement) will open doors we couldn't imagine before. → The EU's Digital Product Passports are making transparency mandatory. India already has the systems in place. 3/ Circularity is turning waste into raw material: → Old factory scraps get redesigned into new products → Clothes are designed to last years, not seasons → We stop buying new materials when we can reuse what exists The numbers speak for themselves. 📌 They'll create 35 million jobs.  📌 They'll make India the global textile leader. 📌 These sustainability practices will generate $350 billion in growth. After two decades of watching this industry evolve, we're at a turning point. Even at Falabella and Attic Salt, organic yarn and sustainability are at the core of our business. We strongly believe in it and follow similar processes because we've seen how these practices transform quality and profitability. PS: If you're a sustainability or recycling expert, I'd love to hear your insights. Please message me here so we can connect.

eBay launches a secondhand fashion collection at New York Fashion Week eBay introduced preloved clothing into high-profile by partnering with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the British Fashion Council, eBay’s "Endless Runway" showcasing preloved items from luxury brands like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. This initiative aims to make secondhand fashion more mainstream, showing that preloved clothing can be just as aspirational as new designer items. The result so far? A 1,600% increase in searches for "pre-loved fashion" and a 7,000% surge in searches for "sustainable fashion". Why does this matter to fashion brands worldwide? The global secondhand market is expanding rapidly as consumers become more aware of the environmental impact of overconsumption, with platforms and brands alike working to integrate secondhand fashion into the mainstream. Events like Ebay's runway shows and partnerships such as The Or Foundation's billboard during New York Fashion Week highlight growing concerns about textile waste and promote a shift toward more sustainable consumption. Secondhand September, supported by brands like DVF (Diane von Furstenberg) and The North Face, encourages consumers to embrace pre-loved fashion in both physical and digital stores, aiming to reduce reliance on new material production. Pop culture plays a vital role in making secondhand fashion aspirational, as seen in Ebay's presentation of archival fashion during London Fashion Week, demonstrating how secondhand shopping can be both stylish and sustainable. Consumers, especially younger generations, are more conscious of the fashion industry's ecological footprint, and they increasingly prefer brands that align with their values. For fashion companies, integrating preloved offerings into their business models is not just a sustainable choice—it’s a smart business move that taps into a booming market, while contributing to the solution for fashion’s waste problem. The future of fashion is circular, and the secondhand movement is leading the way. #decarbonisation #fashion #co2emissions Visual: @impact

Ghana imports 15 million items of secondhand clothing every week 🌎 This massive influx of used garments has positioned Ghana as the largest importer of secondhand clothing globally. While some items find a second life in markets like Kantamanto in Accra, a significant portion is unusable due to poor quality. An estimated 40% of these imports become waste, burdening the country’s ecosystems, communities, and waste management systems. Kantamanto Market, one of the largest hubs for secondhand clothing, reveals the harsh realities of this trade. Traders frequently encounter bales filled with stained, torn, or otherwise unsellable garments. These unusable items often end up in informal landfills or are burned, releasing harmful pollutants into the air. The economic toll on traders and the environmental consequences for surrounding areas are profound. The environmental impact is particularly evident in Accra’s Korle Lagoon, once a vibrant waterway and source of livelihood. Today, it is one of the most polluted water bodies on Earth, choked with textile and plastic waste. This pollution flows downstream, affecting coastal communities and contaminating the ocean. Beaches in areas like Jamestown are now littered with clothing and debris, further exacerbating the crisis. This issue highlights broader inequities in the global trade of secondhand goods. Exporting nations often offload their waste under the guise of reuse, shifting the environmental burden to countries like Ghana. Without stronger regulations and sustainable alternatives, the cycle of waste and pollution will continue to escalate. Addressing this challenge requires systemic change. Measures such as improving the quality of secondhand clothing exports, investing in local recycling and upcycling initiatives, and promoting sustainable consumption practices globally are critical. These steps can help mitigate the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion while fostering a more equitable and sustainable system. Source: The Guardian #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #climateaction #circulareconomy

NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS SECOND-HAND SHOPPING DISPLACES NEW FASHION PURCHASES: Across the UK, US and Australia, more than three in five Depop purchases displace the buying of brand-new clothing. That includes fast fashion, with almost identical displacement rates to premium labels. The findings also reveal more deliberate consumption. If users can’t find what they want, 71 per cent keep searching or buy nothing at all. Just six per cent go back to buying new fast fashion. With 92 million tonnes of textiles going to landfill each year, the research raises the question of whether resale is proving its potential to curb demand for new clothes. Many have disputed this and claim the growth of second-hand is simply fuelling further buys on top of new fashion. Depop first published its displacement rate in 2022 but has since adopted the more conservative WRAP methodology. This is designed to account for factors such as impulse purchases and user uncertainty. The research, based on a survey of 3,759 users across the UK, US, and Australia, builds on WRAP’s Displacement Rates Untangled report released earlier this year. Our story in comments.

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 Two resale leaders just posted results ( 🔗 Links in comments) that show the second-hand market is maturing into a profitable, tech-powered part of fashion’s future: 👜 The RealReal (Q2 2025 April–June) - Revenue: +14% YoY → $165M - GMV: $540M (+14%) - EBITDA: $6.8M (4.1% margin) - now in the black - AI “Athena” now processes up to 20% of inventory, targeting 30–40% by year-end 👗 ThredUp (H1 2025 January-June) - Revenue: +13.5% → $149M - Losses: down 66% (from $30.5M to $10M) - EBITDA: doubled to $6.8M - 1.47M active buyers + 3M second-hand items sold 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: From luxury consignment to large-scale thrift, resale is showing it can scale, deliver profitability, and leverage AI for efficiency, while keeping garments in circulation longer. This is no longer a side project for the fashion industry. It’s becoming a core revenue stream and a circularity driver. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱? ✴️ For brands → integrate resale into the business model, not just as a marketing play ✴️ For consumers → more access to quality fashion with a lower footprint ✴️ For innovators → build the infrastructure that powers scale ✴️ For the planet → extend product lifecycles and reduce waste at scale The resale economy isn’t just growing, it’s growing up. At Reclaim, we’re helping brands tap into this momentum. If you’re exploring how resale fits into your circularity strategy, let’s talk. #CircularEconomy #Recommerce #SustainableFashion #Innovation #AI #Resale #Therealreal #Threup #Reclaim

Secondhand clothing isn’t the problem. THE QUALITY IS! I’ve seen firsthand how secondhand clothing can create opportunity. Most people do not know this, but my family used to import secondhand clothes into South Africa before it was banned. We ran a shop in Tembisa that helped build an entire ecosystem of micro-entrepreneurs in the local community. When secondhand markets work, it gives people access to well-made clothes at a price they wouldn’t get anywhere else. Clothes that last. Clothes that hold value. But that’s not what’s happening now. Of the containers shipped today 40-60% is unsellable waste. What should be reuse has turned into dumping and the volumes are staggering. The materials being passed on just aren’t built to last. Instead of extending the life of garments, the system is pushing low-quality clothing (or literal scrap) that falls apart fast and floods local markets with unwearable stock. This gets cut up and used in the best case scenario, or burnt / dumped. That’s not circularity. That's failure. The system is broken. We need to shift back to secondhand clothing that has a real second life. In many places, clothes are very expensive as a proportion of income. Well-made secondhand garments are often better quality than anything new at the same price point. And in many of these markets, people take real pride in their clothes—caring for them, keeping them in use for a decade or more. Lets ship good quality. If we want real circularity, quality has to be part of the equation. As a fun fact, this was our most in demand item from European containers.

👚 Do circular fashion alternatives like secondhand and repair *actually* help displace the purchase of new garments? I know it has for me — last year I brought just 6 new slow fashion items into my closet. Compare that with the several DOZENS of fast fashion items I used to buy annually and there's no doubt that secondhand has reduced my consumption of new stuff. But I also read and talk about sustainable fashion all day long, so there are a lot of other factors at play. Could we really say the same about displacement of circular fashion with new products on a larger scale? 🛍 In other words: is the average shopper that chooses secondhand, rental, or repair actually buying less new? Or are they engaging with circular fashion options on top of buying the same amount of new stuff? That's what WRAP's latest report "Displacement Rates Untangled" — which includes findings tested by eBay, Vestiaire Collective, Depop, The Seam, SOJO and Finisterre — aimed to unpack. 💬 Their survey asked UK shoppers questions like: - "Do you think that (buying/ renting/acquiring/ repairing) this item has stopped you from buying a brand-new item?" - "Why do you think that (buying/renting/acquiring) the item stopped you from buying a brand-new item?" The result? 🪡 Repair had a displacement rate of 82%. >> Put differently: for every 5 items repaired, 4 displaced a new purchase for respondents. 👖 Resale had a displacement rate of 65%. >> So for every 5 preloved items bought, 3 displaced new purchases for respondents. 🌏 WHY THIS MATTERS: There's no sugarcoating it that the fashion industry has a massive overproduction & overconsumption problem. And while we can see how circular fashion options like resale and repair help lengthen the life of a garment, it's been less clear if circular options are actually reducing demand for new stuff. This report helps clarify the sustainability and climate impact of circular options like resale and repair, helping make a stronger case for how these alternatives fit into the broader sustainable fashion movement. 📝 CONSIDERATIONS: - This report was based on survey responses, which can be imperfect. However, there may not be other effective ways to measure an intent to buy. - Overall production is still going up, with WRAP's report sharing that there's been a 10% increase in volume of textiles placed on the UK market from 2019 to 2023. ➡️ What do you think about these findings? I'll drop the report in the comments if you haven't checked it out yet!

It is that time of the year!! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗨𝗣 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.  The data confirms what many of us already suspected:  𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱;  it’s a fundamental shift in how we consume and value clothing.  But here's the paradox: Even with this impressive growth, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟱𝟬𝘀.*  𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: Resale has gone global. ↳ The global secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $367 billion by 2029. Tariffs are pushing shoppers toward resale. ↳ 59% of consumers say they’ll buy secondhand if clothing prices go up due to tariffs. Gen Z and Millennials are shopping with resale value in mind. ↳ 41% of Gen Z and Millennial shoppers avoid buying clothing that doesn’t have strong resale potential. Trade-in programs are driving growth. ↳ 47% of shoppers are more likely to buy from a brand for the first time if it offers store credit for used apparel. AI is making secondhand more accessible. ↳ 59% of young consumers say personalization and discovery tools make shopping secondhand just as easy as buying new. Retailers want government support to manage textile waste. ↳ 44% of retail executives believe the governments should put forth a federal waste policy to make it easier. This is great and all, but, based on my research: → 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 "𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲" 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀.  For these brands, it’s like being stuck between the proverbial rock (cheaper, non-sustainable brands) and a hard place (secondhand options). But secondhand can still be an opportunity. 𝗦𝗼, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼? 1. Start. ↳ Even a simple trade-in program helps you get started. 2. Use a partner. ↳ You don’t need to build a resale platform from scratch, consider third-party tools like Trove. 3. Focus on quality. ↳ Products that are durable, well-made, and have a following sell AND resell better. 4. Make resale a growth tool. ↳ Offering store credit for used items can bring in first-time buyers and boost loyalty. 5. Be where your customers are. ↳ Younger shoppers are buying and selling on social media every day. 6. Use AI to simplify it. ↳ AI is helping secondhand shopping match the ease of buying new. 7. Get ahead of regulation. ↳ With EPR laws and Digital Product Passports on the rise, resale can be a proactive way to prepare. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲? I’m always on the lookout for great examples. 𝗧𝗮𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱/𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄. ___ * Based on current market sizes and growth.

𝗔 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱. Most pieces are barely worn. Some spend only 2 years in a closet before being thrown out. But not everything ends up as waste. At ThredUp, 17 million items found a second life last year. 1. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗴𝘀: People send in “clean-out kits” filled with clothes. Workers check for stains or rips, then sort what can be resold. 2. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Each item is tagged, priced, and photographed. A hanger system the size of a football field moves 100,000 pieces around the warehouse. 3. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲: Most sell within 60 days. The original owner earns a cut. Sometimes a few dollars. Sometimes hundreds. 4. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀: Unsold clothes are not trashed. They are shipped to partners around the world, from sorting hubs in Pakistan to markets in Ghana. One pair of jeans might travel thousands of miles.  Changing owners again and again.  Each time, avoiding the landfill. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: Less than 1% of old clothes are recycled into new fabric. That is why resale platforms matter. 💬 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻? 👉 Follow Naomi Kaduwela for perspectives on data and trust in action.  🔁 Share with a colleague who cares about impact. #SustainableFashion #ResaleRevolution #ThredUp #CircularEconomy #WasteNotWantNot #FashionForFuture #EcoFriendly #SecondHandStyle #FastFashionImpact #ConsciousConsumerism