Since the pandemic, fashion has undergone a major transformation within how it operates. In particular, the resale market has been booming whilst many fashion brands such as Debenhams and Topshop to name a few, have gone bankrupt. Resale is the one market that didn’t collapse. This is mainly due to a shift in consumer behaviour. The generation that contributed to the success of resale is Gen Z. As a generation they have changed since the pandemic, where the majority bought into fast fashion prior to the pandemic, now that majority have completely shifted their buying habits, opting for second hand vintage goods instead, as sustainability has moved to the forefront of their minds.
The pandemic slowed everything down, the nationwide imposed lockdown gave everyone the opportunity to make the most out of this free time. Resale boomed as a result of consumers having more time on their hands, the pandemic pushed the industry forward, as more people opted to clean their closets, and took time to resell their own clothes, thredUP reported (Bouthier, 2022). High street retailers were forced to close which meant that online shopping also thrived. Prior to the pandemic, consumers would shop on the high street but as a result of the pandemic consumers had to shop online instead, as they had no option. However, many people realised that online shopping was also more convenient, and since the return to normality, we have seen the emergence of more fashion brands operating as ecommerce businesses only. In the current living crisis, it seems more logical to run a business online than it does to have a physical store as there are more overheads with a physical store.
Furthermore, resale predominantly gained its popularity through TikTok. The social media platform grew in popularity and became very influential, resulting in many brands relying heavily on the platform to bring in more traffic. TikTok quickly became the platform to influence consumers to buy into trends, the social media platform as such is the reason why resale platforms such as Depop and Ebay have garnered the attention of Gen Z. Of the many things that TikTok has influenced, ‘thrift flipping’ is significant. A term Gen Z coined as the process of buying clothes from thrift stores for the sole purpose of reselling them for a higher price, is one in particular that has gained the attention of Gen Z. What started out as a way of decluttering and getting rid of unwanted clothes became a profitable business opportunity in which Gen Z took on as a side hustle to earn an extra income, Gen Z quickly became the generation which had the desire to create change. Maybe don’t throw away those clothes in the back of your closet, because 80s, 90s, and Y2K trends are coming back, and it’s all thanks to TikTok. Local second-hand stores are reporting increased demand for thrifted pieces from these eras, mostly driven by Gen Z customers. TikTok is not only driving a return to styles some of us would rather forget, it’s also encouraging slow fashion. (Taliesin, 2021)
It would be true to say that the resale market has completely changed the landscape of fashion and in turn, consumer buying habits. The industry has shifted from a point where consumers gave little thought about the impact of their choices to the point where they have chosen to become responsible for their actions and create a better future for the industry and the planet. Consumers are more mindful of what they’re buying. They are striving to limit food waste, shop more cost consciously and buy more sustainable options. (COVID-19: How consumer behaviour will be changed, 2020). The pandemic, if anything has put a lot into perspective for consumers, overconsumption is not as much of an issue now because consumers are either switching over to buying pre-loved or they’re simply limiting their spending on clothes. Aswell as the boom in second hand fashion within the resale market, with sustainability in mind, Gen Z consumers have opted to shop with small independent brands of which pride themselves in conscious and ethical design rather than the big fashion houses who aren’t transparent when it comes to their production. Small business owners don’t have the balance sheet to source materials and produce at scale. They must operate small batch productions to meet capital and operational constraints. They cannot afford waste, as simple as that. While fast fashion is all about made-to-dispose, emerging and independent brands generally preach the made-to-last mindset. Customer satisfaction in their niche is the key to their success as opposed to mass consumption models. (Sokmean N, 2021). With regards to the Gen Zers who started off selling second hand vintage on platforms like Depop, a lot of those individual sellers have now moved onto creating their own designs, becoming a part of the chain of small independent businesses ethically producing in the UK, in order to limit the pollution emitted from transport overseas.
Is resale the answer to a sustainable future? An answer I am curious to find out about as resale becomes more prominent as we look towards the future of the industry and in turn, the solution to a sustainable future. I for one still think that the future of fashion and the planet is uncertain. If second hand is the answer, then surely fast fashion needs to resign from its position. For the main part of this essay, I intend to further examine the resale market. In particular, I intend to look into fast fashion resale and luxury resale to see how those markets are shaping the landscape of resale in general. My reasoning for investigating the different market levels is so that I can see whether each will fit into the future of fashion, if it is heading in the direction of resale.
To begin with, I will start off by looking at the fast fashion market. Sustainability has become more of a priority for fast fashion brands most recently. To name a few, brands like PrettyLittleThing, Shein and Zara are tapping into the resale space in a bid to survive within the future of a sustainable led industry. However, this raises a lot of questions and one in particular. Can fast fashion brands survive in the resale market? Personally, my answer is no, as it is self-explanatory, they are operating in the realms of mass consumption. A brand like Shein trying to be sustainable by launching resale within their brand doesn’t change the fact that they are still mass producing clothes and encouraging overconsumption. Fast fashion brands simply can’t survive in the resale market. It is contradictory for a fast fashion brand to try and be sustainable when fast fashion is a market that fuels overconsumption. Most recently, PrettyLittleThing announced that they would be launching a marketplace that fits into the resale market by giving consumers the opportunity to be sustainable through buying pre-loved or selling clothes they no longer wear. ‘Is fast fashion resale truly operating in a way that reflects the values of a circular practice? Or are these markets simply a new avenue for profit?’ (Elliott, 2022). The way I view this is that fast fashion brands are launching their own resale platforms to compete against companies such as Depop and Vinted which are genuine resale platforms that take pride in the future of our planet and are not contradicting their values by mass producing alongside this. “It is a massive move for us and something that we think will disrupt the fashion industry, as people aren’t going to expect this from us” (Wightman-Stone, 2022). Although I wasn’t expecting this, I am not exactly surprised. This is a move they have taken upon in order to fit in and avoid negative press regarding their sustainability efforts. “It will encourage girls to think maybe this piece is actually still in really great condition and to encourage someone else to buy it, and it is great to make a little bit of money for our girls as well” (Wightman-Stone, 2022). Again, going back to this claim of profit over planet, like it or not PrettyLittleThing are a money making business and so, everything they do is backed up by the profit they will make. Even with this new initiative, they’re thinking about the money consumers will make from this, completely ignoring the good that this may do for the planet.
Furthering the discussion of how fast fashion is impacting the resale market, I wanted to add to this research by referencing Vestiaire Collective of whom recently announced a ban on fast fashion within their platform. Ahead of the Black Friday sales, the French reseller site Vestiare Collective will ban fast fashion from their site. This comes as a move by the fashion reseller to position themselves as an eco-conscious player in the sustainability game in a move toward the “circular fashion economy”. It comes as no surprise that companies are starting to do something about fast fashion even if it is just banning them from being involved with their own company. In contrast to the previous paragraph where I discussed how fast fashion brands are trying to fit into the resale market, I thought it would be important to include this research as I find it very informative for putting together a conclusion to the question ‘Is resale the answer to a sustainable future? Why. Because this is an example of a resale platform that is actively taking steps towards a sustainable future and this first step is to remove fast fashion from the resale market as they simply don’t belong there. This is only the start for Vestiare Collective, the next three years will see them teaming up with a third-party agency to eradicate low product quality, poor working conditions and lower its overall carbon footprint. They aim to be completely rid of fast fashion by “Better Friday,” 2024. (Solomon, 2022).
Although, since the pandemic we have seen a rise in buying second hand, fast fashion still remains to be the popular choice for the majority of Gen Z and convincing this generation to switch over to buying second hand will prove difficult considering they have grown up with it readily available to them. With the current cost of living crisis looming over their heads, Generation Z members say they want their clothes to be sustainable but still regularly buy fast fashion, demonstrating a “clear gap” between ideals and practice, new research shows (Trueman, 2022). With the financial crisis, consumers are now choosing to be careful with how they spend their money. And so, this begs the question as to how this generation can afford to prioritise sustainability when the cost of living has given them no choice but to continue to buy into fast fashion. “Clothing that is made in a more ethical, local way, is often a lot more expensive so consumers like myself can feel priced out of being able to make that moral decision” – Zoe May (Benson, 2021). If resale is the solution to a sustainable future, then it needs to be more affordable for the younger generations. It is safe to say that not even the current living crisis will help with persuading Gen Z consumers to buy second hand as it’s simply too late. When thinking about the future of this industry, there needs to be a greater focus placed on Gen Alpha as they are the future consumer. This generation are young enough to be educated and brought up with the belief that fast fashion is bad just as children are educated on the dangers of smoking. This generation, if anything are the cohort of consumers that are most likely to initiate change. Right now, Gen Alpha are at the prime age, where education will mould their beliefs and attitudes as they grow up. Generation Alpha are a part of the equation to find the solution. Gen Alpha feels a deep responsibility to reverse the damage of past generations “These kids are starting to feel that they’re the ones who are going to suffer because of the consequences of inaction,” says Abdaal (Winter, 2022). Unlike Gen Z, this generation seem to be aware of the damage that previous generations have caused and they want to initiate change because they care about the planet.
When looking at the luxury resale market with a particular focus on platforms such as Vestiaire Collective or the RealReal, one notable point is that these platforms are not a hot topic amongst the younger generation, most likely because of cost, even when bought second hand. Consumers will be looking at cheaper alternatives amidst the cost of living crisis, even if some consumers would’ve bought into luxury prior to this, they’re now forced to reconsider how and where they spend their money. Luxury is a prominent area for resale, with hype focused on designer accessories, especially handbags, as consumers perceive these items to be good investments. “Despite this demand, second-hand luxury prices still remain inaccessible for many shoppers, and this will contribute to the resale accessories market seeing lower growth than clothing and footwear out to 2026” (Cost of living crisis will drive more consumers towards secondhand fashion, with the global apparel resale market set to grow 85.5% between 2022 and 2026 to $338.4 billion, says GlobalData, 2022). Furthermore, It’s important to note that there seems to be more hype for second hand luxury goods on sites like Ebay and Depop than Vestiaire and The Real Real. For example, luxury labels that are popular amongst Gen Z include vintage Dolce&Gabanna, Jean Paul Gaultier, Diesel, DKNY etc. The younger generation are more drawn to vintage luxury labels as they have acquired more appeal than general luxury goods. Luxury resale sites may not achieve as much popularity than the likes of Depop and Ebay but this may change with the emergence of the new generation of changemakers. However, having said this, the resale of second hand luxury goods does seem to be influencing a lot of Gen Z to buy into the luxury resale market, more so now. If the luxury market predominantly worked with vintage rather than being trend driven, then there would be the potential for more of a market within luxury and so, companies like Vestiaire and the RealReal could match up to sites like Depop in terms of popularity.
Depop helped bring pre-loved clothing into the mainstream; it rebranded sustainability as something cool and accessible and spectacularly obliterated the taboo of buying second hand (Smith, 2022). Buying vintage second hand clothes has become more than just a trend, it has opened up a new market level of which is cool amongst Gen Z. The fashion industry may not be fully sustainable yet, but steps are being taken towards this end goal. For example, this past summer, the hit reality tv show Love Island began a partnership with Ebay for this years show which is an improvement from previous years, when the show faced a lot of backlash through promoting fast fashion, by partnering with fast fashion brand ISAWITFIRST. This years show saw contestants wear pre-loved clothing from Ebay, and this was heavily advertised. Aswell as this, one of the contestants who reached the final became the ambassador of pre-loved for Ebay and released a pre-loved collection with the resale platform. “I’m passionate about showing how easy it is to make those little swaps so that we shop more sustainably, whilst still serving amazing looks!” (Carey, 2022). This is a step in the right direction, especially for advertising it for the younger generations. On the topic of how resale is constantly adapting to fit into a sustainable future, aswell as buying second-hand, sustainable fashion is now also emerging in the form of clothing rentals and clothes swapping. New clothes are falling increasingly out of style as younger consumers cope with economic hardship from the pandemic and focus more on sustainability. It’s not just resale reaping the benefits — clothes swapping ventures are also getting a boost (Bottaro, 2021). For example, Don’t Shop Swap is an example of a clothes swapping platform that has attracted Gen Z, it is found to be a cheaper alternative to buying or selling as it can simply be defined as the process of swapping clothes one no longer wants for clothes they do want, all involving no cost. This drives the question of, is the future going to revolve around more cost effective solutions to pre-loved clothing? Like Don’t Shop Swap, or will resale continue as it is currently?
It seems that in this current climate, the cost of living crisis is encouraging consumers to shop sustainably and opt for pre-loved instead of new, and I thought it would be relevant to research this as it is another factor to take into consideration as to how resale is shaping a sustainable future. ”It’s better for the environment and better for your pocket.” Charity shops have reported a surge in customers as the cost of living crisis combines with a “shift in attitude” towards second hand clothes. “There’s definitely been a stigma around buying second hand in the past,” “Maybe people have been embarrassed by it and thought others would think they’re struggling. “But I just think mindsets are changing - obviously it does save you a lot of money but also stops things ending up in landfill.” “Everything already exists - as long as you can find it there’s no need to buy new.” (Messenger, 2022). Despite the rise in second hand shopping amidst the cost of living crisis, consumers have noticed the increase of prices in charity shops, and unfortunately charities are also having to increase their prices due to price inflation, meaning that many people who rely on charity shops to clothe themselves will run out of options. Because of this, consumers may become more creative with what they have and instead of buying clothes, it could be that people bring back the idea of make do and mend with no involved cost. Furthermore, with the cost of living crisis, charities may not be seeing as many donations as people opt to sell their clothes instead to earn some money, or finding use for them rather than buying a new wardrobe which they would have done prior to the cost of living crisis. The problem is that charity shops don’t exist to serve people on lower incomes, instead they exist to serve the charity at hand, therefore, they’re unlikely to nudge the prices. People are scrutinising the prices. Before they might have turned a blind eye to the price and thought, “oh well, it’s for charity”. Now, I don’t think people can do that. Charities have overheads, they must pay for lighting and rent and water etc for their shops. They need to make money. (Harris, 2022).
In summary, instead of focusing on the question is resale the answer to a sustainable future? I have found that from my research, resale is obviously not the sole answer. Therefore, I will instead focus on how resale is shaping a sustainable future. To begin with, I think that resale will continue to play a major part of fashion in the future, but the question is, what will it look like? As mentioned previously, will it revolve around more cost effective solutions to pre-loved clothing? Like Don’t Shop Swap, or will resale continue as it is currently? Of course, with the cost of living, it would be easy to say that it would revolve around more cost effective solutions. However, it doesn’t seem like that will happen as resale is expected to grow 127% by 2026, three times faster than the wider retail clothing industry, according to a new report from ThredUp. The younger generation remains the most open towards pre-loved fashion, with 62% of Gen Z and millennials saying they look for a second hand item before buying a new one. The report also found that 58% of consumers say second hand shopping has helped them in some way amid rising inflation. (Cameron, 2022). To support the argument of whether resale will revolve around more cost effective solutions, I personally don’t think it will as it is expected to be a prominent market in the future which consumers will more than likely buy into as a replacement of fast fashion. Cost of living has pushed the resale market forwards, it has given it the boost it needed, which in turn is the reason why it’s expected to grow to exponential heights.
Thrifting and charity shopping have been favourites for a while, but we’ve now moved onto not buying clothes at all. Enter renting and swapping. Renting clothes involves paying a reduced fee to borrow a piece for a stated amount of time. Swapping involves donating some of your clothes in return for someone else’s. Renting and swapping highlight that it isn’t always necessary to own more clothes, but borrowing or trading clothes will more than suffice. It comes from the fact that overconsumption is rife and therefore renting or swapping encourages more conscious consumerism. (Morgan, 2021). If renting and swapping is the solution, that will of course solve the most important problem which is overconsumption. This is a good thing seen as there have been arguments stating that second hand resale is following in the footsteps of fast fashion through mindless consumption. However, on the other hand, this removes resale from the equation as both rentals and swapping involve little cost. “Vinted — a resale app — offers the potential for swapping as an alternative to selling but it doesn’t seem to be frequently used, which is a shame.” (Morgan, 2021). Consumers use Vinted similar to how they use Depop in the sense that they use it as a potential business venture to earn money. Unfortunately, we live in a world of excess which leaves everyone wanting more, and so, swapping clothes rather than selling for a profit seems unlikely. Although, I think clothes swapping and rentals will continue for consumers who are on lower incomes, but I don’t think it will dominate the future of resale. Growing up in the 21st century means that people are accustomed to overconsumption, which means that it would be difficult to convince consumers to consume less, especially with social media encouraging mass consumption. Linking back to my FMP as it is relevant to the points I am making. I have been researching overconsumption with second hand, and I recently looked into made to order as an approach to combat overconsumption, but with a bit of a twist, as resale is centred around clothes that already exist. If resellers sourced their stock based on what the customer wants, they wouldn’t be left with heaps of stock. As a reseller myself, I am aware of how much stock I source and I am sometimes left with stock that doesn’t sell, so this could be a potential solution to how resale could lead a more sustainable path in the future.
Resale enables consumers to shop locally, as well as supporting independent sellers rather than giant fast fashion chains. And on top of that, it gives items of clothing a second life, avoiding being dumped in some awful landfield. It’s a win-win situation really. (Eleuterio, 2021). To conclude the points I have covered, I do a see future for resale and I think it will continue to thrive into the future and through the younger generations. In terms of what it will look like with sustainability in mind, obviously I can’t predict what it will look like, but based off of my research and what I think, I would say that clothes swapping and rentals will become more popular through shifts in consumer behaviour – consumers choosing to be more sustainable and being careful with how they spend their money, as a result of the cost of living crisis, consumers will realize that they don’t need to buy new or that they don’t need to buy a new wardrobe every time they’ve worn an outfit. All in all, I think the driving force will be a shift in consumer mindset as a result of the cost of living and as a result of the pandemic. Not just for swapping and rentals, but for thrifting and reselling too.
