SECONDHAND FASHION

Online Used Clothing Stores Good for the Wallet and Planet

by Sandra Yeyati

The online commerce of used clothing is booming. According to ThredUp.com, 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.com, which caters to cash-strapped Generation Z and millennial shoppers, and Poshmark.com, 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.com, founded by women for women; Paris-based reseller VestiaireCollective.com; and TheRealReal. com, out of San Francisco.

Other notable players include brickand-mortar thrift store Goodwill Industries, which has partnered with resale app OfferUp.com to upload their inventories; eBay.com, one of the first online,

Brand-Name Manufacturers and Retailers React The Secondhand Surge and the Environment

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 TheRealReal.com, while Adidas is working with ThredUp.com. In 2021, Poshmark. com 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 ecommerce,” 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.Levi.com and fast-fashion giant H&M’s Rewear.hm.com, 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. ThredUp.com’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,

To protect the planet, founder and CEO Park advises, the goal should of PoshMark.com, be to buy nothing or buy less. 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 consumProviding Healthy, Green Alternatives For Our Patients GeneralGeneral Holistic Cosmetic Our practice is committed to Doctors Kozlow and Rowell A lovely smile is first functional, the overall health of our patients practice using the latest holistic second beautiful. Restore your and treats everything from gum dentistry to help you achieve smile with implants, veneers disease to fillings and crowns optimal dental and overall health and teeth whitening. “The service and care I get with staff is above and beyond. From the moment you get there until you walk out the door...everyone is knowledgeable and friendly. The technology is cutting edge as well!” Schedule Your Appointment Today (972) 458-2464 Doctors Rowell and Kozlow 5050 Quorum Dr, Ste 300 • Dallas, TX • DallasDentist.net

ers 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-nightstand 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 SandraYeyati@ gmail.com.

Living in the Frequency of Love

by Marlaina Donato

Benjavisa Ruangvaree/AdobeStock.com

Most of us refer to love as an emotion, but in essence, love is a verb, a powerful call to action. When we remember its true nature, we can answer its call with our unique signature. Some brave souls like Martin Luther King, Jr. leap into uncharted territory with authentic truths, while others sprinkle their quiet corner of the world with small gestures of kindness. Telling someone how much they mean to us, holding the door for a stranger, asking a cashier how their day is going or welcoming a new neighbor is like handing out a piece of light. Added up at the end of the day or a lifetime, we create a mural of stars against the darkness.

The frequency of love not only inspires, but heals. The energy of giving and receiving is literally wired into our neurochemistry, flooding our bloodstream with endorphins that combat systemic inflammation, influence mood, accelerate recovery and raise the pain threshold.

We can freely stream waters of genuine kindness, love and affection, but if there is no waiting vessel for love’s outpouring, the potential of its power is diminished and incomplete. Our willingness and that of others to receive activates kindness, awakens what is dormant inside of us and quickens our capacity to thrive.

Mother Teresa once said, “We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair and hopelessness is love.” With our willingness to gift one another with our full and authentic presence, all else is possible.

Marlaina Donato is an author and visionary composer. Connect at WildflowerLady.com.

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