We CAN Replace Fast Fashion

Today is Earth Day and the Instagram stories and EDMs have been pouring in from every fashion brand. Surely there is some irony in this, we have to admit although working in the industry is a position of power to make a change.. We are the problem.

The worst culprit of climate impact is of course fast fashion, every fast fashion and high street brand has a sustainability strategy but in fact we would be a lot better off if they ceased to exist. In recent years top predictors in the fashion industry have marked the rental and second hand business models to be the key replacers of the fast fashion model our planet can no longer stand to support. The second hand business model is set to grow by a massive scale in the coming years. It is predicted that resale & rental businesses could be bigger than fast fashion and will take a percentage of every wardrobe. Re-sale fashion will re-define the value of apparel.

The early adopters of this model include Eileen Fisher and TheRealReal and the many brands partnering with it such as Stella McCartney and Burberry. Many fashion brands are now following and developing their own second hand ranges to add to their sustainability portfolio. Many small boutiques at the forefront of bricks and mortar trends are also already stocking a mix of new and vintage wares. See a couple more early adopters of the trend below:

Vestiaire Collective

After having her two daughters, Fanny Moizant was inspired to start her own company. She came up with the idea to launch Vestiaire Collective after observing French fashion bloggers selling their out-of-season designer clothing, to reinvest in new, fashionable items. Moizant quickly saw a need for a dedicated platform for fashion lovers to buy and sell their pre-owned items in a smart, inspirational and trusted way. Vestiaire Collective is now one of the biggest re-sale platforms having 9 million members across 90 countries.

Nudie Jeans

Every pair of Nudie jeans, no matter where you buy them, comes with a promise of free repairs. They train their retail staff to sew/mend jeans in stores – this also adds theatre to the store experience. If there’s no Repair Shop around the corner where you live and there are no planned visits from the Mobile Repair Station, you can order a free of charge Repair Kit. If you don’t like your jeans anymore Nudie re-use will take them, mend them and resell for ½ the retail price of new jeans

Nowadays re-sale and rental are picking up fast: Farfetch has a pre-owned section, Rent the Runway, which launched in 2009 and is now valued at $1 billion; COS has been trialling rental in China and are set to release a re-sale site in Europe; H&M is trialling rental in Stockholm. Rental and re-sale are redefining the value of fashion to today’s consumer.