Secondhand Clothing Back in Fashion as Sales Rise
Secondhand clothing is back in fashion, as the global resale market grew by 18% in 2023.
That's according to a report for ThredUp, a US clothing resale company.
ThredUp said the secondhand market grew 15 times faster than the general clothing retail market during the year.
And the report predicts that by 2025, sales of secondhand clothing will account for 10% of all global clothing sales.
Once, people felt shame wearing secondhand clothes, said fashion writer Ellie Violet Bramley in The Guardian. But that's gone, she said, and secondhand shopping has become fashionable.
Governments continue to worry about the environmental impact of cheaply made "fast fashion." And while this remains a problem, many shoppers have also become more conscious about sustainability.
Secondhand clothes, also sometimes called "pre-loved" items, are also a good choice for people who want to save money.
A lot of the market growth came in the US, where the secondhand market grew seven times faster than overall fashion retail in 2023.
The ThredUp report also surveyed more than 3,500 shoppers in the US to find out about their buying habits.
And according to the survey, two out of five US clothing purchases in 2023 were secondhand.
In fact, more than half of the shoppers surveyed had bought something secondhand during the year. The percentage was even higher — 65% — among those aged between 12 and 43.
Many of those younger buyers are shopping online, using popular sites like Vinted and Depop, while older shoppers often prefer traditional secondhand stores and charity shops.
A quarter of people also sold items of clothing during 2023 to make money.
However, it's not all good news. Some resale companies lost a lot of money last year. Experts say there is actually too much secondhand clothing for companies to manage, and processing it all takes time and costs money.
