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purchased second-hand clothing items in 2021. In China, consumption. For retailers, the sale of second-hand items
this has still not taken off, with only one in five online has emerged as a beneficial model to carry this goal into
consumers buying pre-used. Overall, consumers were more effect. Several mainstream clothing companies have
open to purchasing second-hand clothing than accessories initiated their own second-hand selling programs, mainly
and footwear. Even in the United States, where purchases of via online channels. H&M is considered to be one of the
such items were more common, less than a third of online leading examples in Europe. The H&M Group brand Cos
consumers bought second-hand accessories and footwear. offers a second-hand platform for buying and selling used
Cos garments. The Group´s entrance into second-hand
Resale platforms attract interest from major players clothing started in 2015 when the company invested in
Online resale platforms have begun to attract attention Sellpy, the Sweden-based online clothing platform startup.
from more established players in the retail and e-commerce Since 2019, H&M Group has been the majority owner of
industry. In 2021, Etsy announced the 1.6 billion U.S. Sellpy, with a 70% stake. Since then, Sellpy has expanded
dollar acquisition of Depop, a peer-to-peer social fashion beyond the Swedish borders and has become a truly
resale platform founded in the UK in 2011 and with offices international player in the online second-hand apparel
in Milan and New York. Since its launch, Depop has taken market. Today, Sellpy is available in 20 European markets,
the online second- including Germany,
hand market by “THE FAST DEVELOPMENT OF RESALE the Netherlands,
storm, enabling and Austria.
consumers to IS TIGHTLY CONNECTED TO THE FACT
buy and sell used German-based
items. Depop is a THAT THE FASHION INDUSTRY HAS online fashion
bit different from giant Zalando also
other B2C or C2C TO CONSIDER ITS ENVIRONMENTAL offers pre-owned
shopping apps due fashion items on
to its social media- CONFLICTS. ” its marketplace.
driven approach Additionally,
to retailing. The Zalando started
brand’s identity as a a peer-to-peer
social shopping app, a mix between Instagram and eBay, has platform for fashion with the Wardrobe app in 2018. The
led to a following of very engaged users. app received a major makeover in 2021 and was relaunched
as Zircle. The app is a platform for buyers and sellers of
According to a 2020 survey, nearly half of Depop users in second-hand women’s clothing items with free shipping
Australia, the UK, and the U.S. were motivated to purchase provided by Zalando. Zircle operates in two ways. Firstly,
second-hand items online to check the latest trends. For users can sell pre-owned fashion to Zalando, and in turn,
a large majority, second-hand shopping is one of the Zalando sells these items in its online or offline stores.
solutions to sustainability problems. 75% of the app’s users Secondly, users can sell items directly to the community
stated they were buying used goods online to decrease the within Zircle´s online marketplace.
consumption related to clothing purchases. With more than
four million active buyers across the platform, the company Demand for more second-hand clothing options in
revenue was 70 million U.S. dollars in 2020. physical stores
So far, consumption of preowned clothing has been driven
The fashion industry needs to come to terms with its by online channels and B2B/C2C platforms specialising
environmental footprint in resale. However, as second-hand penetrates further
The fast development of resale is tightly connected to into the mainstream apparel market, retailers are taking
the fact that the fashion industry has to consider its the opportunity to listen to the demands of consumers.
environmental conflicts. For a long time, the gigantic According to the results of a 2021 study across four leading
production of clothing and textiles has undoubtedly European markets, around half of all shoppers want more
contributed to environmental waste and harmful emissions. second-hand options in shops belonging to major brands.
Consumers in Sweden were particularly keen on better
The textile industry´s environmental impact is also access to clothing items. Roughly six in 10 respondents
forecast to worsen under the current business model. In said they want to see more second-hand garments in
recent years, some clothing retailers have finally been offline outlets like local shops and department stores.
addressing this situation. Companies are making design
and production processes more sustainable, trying to
keep clothing pieces in use for a longer time, and actively
advocating a circular model of design, production, and

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