Planned obsolescence is the foundation of the business model used in the fashion industry. Numerous fashion firms unveil completely new collections every season.
But engaging in the fashion industry’s plan for obsolescence comes at a high cost to individuals and the environment. The fashion sector produced enough, according to McKinsey.
Every person in the world needed about 14 different items of clothing at one point, and that number has probably grown since then.
The industry generates roughly 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, consumes more energy, and consistently pumps out new items.
The Tribe Of Fashion than the aviation and shipping industries combined and throws off 20% of global wastewater, all while being the second most water-intensive industry in the world.
As the industry works overtime to clean up its act,
fashion’s underlying obsolescence business model goes unchanged. But it is not sustainable as consumers become increasingly aware of its price. They are starting to break the vicious cycle of consumption the fashion industry is founded upon that’s https://blackandwhitehoodie.com/expensive for them and destructive to the environment.
Into the breach, ThredUp offers fashion brands an alternative to get on the right side of the environment and feed consumers’ desire for something new to wear; only ThredUp new is something old from another consumer’s closet.
Called Resale-as-a-Service (Rajas), ThredUp allows fashion brands and retailers to expand their business model to sell new and gently used items to serve the growing legion of conscientious consumers who want to save money and play a part in helping the environment. ThredUp calls these customers “
Unlike thrifts of old who were forced to live frugally, the modern generation of thrifts, though still interested in saving money, are increasingly motivated to change their shopping habits to make a real difference in the world.
“When we debated using the term ‘thriftier’
in our communications, we wondered if it would equate with things being cheap or low-quality,” explained Anthony Marino, president of ThredUp. The Tribe Of Fashion king von outfits “But we discovered it was a term evocative of an aspirational lifestyle and became an asset for us to connect with shoppers concerned with lasting value, sustainability and a new way to shop.”
Also driving the thrusting lifestyle is that thriftier get a psychological reward for their new shopping habit. “Thrusting is like a sport. It takes some work to look through a lot of things, but thrifts get an endorphin rush when they find that Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress for $39 instead of $139. Today it’s become a badge of honor to thrift, rather than a stigma.”
ThredUp estimates that more than half of U.S.
consumers either are or have the potential to become thriftless. Some 57% of consumers resold apparel in 2021 and more than half (53%) reported purchasing secondhand in the last year, up 22 points from 2020.
Thirsting’s become such a thing that https://chromeheartsdress.com/hoodie/ of those who describe themselves as thriftier shop secondhand first, and they are passionate about it. Nearly half of consumers who bought secondhand clothing in 2021 bought ten or more used items.
Profiting through resale
As the threating lifestyle grows, fashion brands’ livelihood is threatened, particularly in the North American market, where the secondhand The Tribe Of Fashion clothing market is expected to grow 16 times faster than the firsthand fashion market by 2026. That’s where ThredUp and its Rae’s service can help brands bridge the gap.
To date, ThredUp estimates there are currently 85 brands and retailers that have resale a product offering, growing from only 38 in 2021.
And these are big brands with a loyal customer base that counts on these brands to be responsible to them and the environment, including Eileen Fisher, Lulu lemon, REI, Patagonia, Levi’s and MacDowell.
Recognizing that resale is a growth opportunity
for established brands, but one that requires a whole new set of capabilities which ThredUp has mastered, it is offering brands two ways to get on the resale bandwagon
Ariana Grande – a Take Back Program, where brands can provide closet Clean Out Kits to customers to turn their used clothing and accessories from any brand into credit for their brand, and a Branded Online Resale Shop to add resale to a brand’s own e-commerce site.
Fashion brands that offer resale send a powerful, reinforcing message to customers that the quality of their products is exceptionally high, The Tribe Of Fashion which fuels growth for the brand in both the primary and secondary markets.
We’ve long known luxury brands partly justify their high prices because their products retain value over time. For next-generation Gen Z and Millennial consumers,
value retention is becoming a consideration not just for luxury, but any fashion purchase, with 46% saying resale value has now become part of their fashion-buying equation.
“Consumers are always looking for smarter alternatives,” Marino said. “There’s something inherently smart about thirsting. It’s a guiltless pleasure, not a destructive form of consumerism, but a mindful way to consume.”
And he continued, “It’s really smart for fashion
brands to get ahead of the resale trends. They are at a fork in the road.
Retailers that get into resale will have a distinct advantage and increased wallet share by combining new items with used clothing in the same experience.“
And ultimately, fashion brands that incorporate resale into their existing business model can buy some time to re-engineer their current manufacturing processes, The Tribe Of Fashion which Kearney reports isn’t doing so well.
“I think the best piece of clothing is the one that already exists,” said Thane Scherzos, assistant professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and principal investigator at Columbia University’s
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. “The best fabric is the fabric that already exists. Keeping things in the supply chain in as many loops and cycles as you can is really, really important.”
