How far can fashion resale drive decarbonisation?

Ecotextile Talks

Following a report outlining the potential benefits for fashion brands looking to integrate resale into their business model, Ecotextile Talks hears from Andy Ruben, founder of recommerce specialist Trove, who shares his insights on where the greatest opportunities lie.

In a conversation dominated by statistics rather than rhetoric, Ruben speaks to Ecotextile News editor John Mowbray at an industry event in Boston to discuss how Trove worked with sustainable tech platform Worldly to identify the fields in which second-hand apparel can directly improve the economic and environmental outputs of brands.

Rather than casting apparel resale as a solve-all solution, Ruben shares data suggesting successful approaches will always need to be tailored according to variables such as retail price points and will likely prove far more effective for certain market segments.

“When you make items that have value beyond the first sale – which tend to be higher price point items because people can't access them on the first go around – they [consumers] covet those brands, they're strong brands, they want them on the second go around,” Ruben states, referring to the resale suitability of premium, luxury and outdoor apparel.

The episode also dives into how the research, published in Where Are Circular Models Effective Sustainability Strategies for Fashion Brands?, was devised and conducted.