What: Resale has evolved from being a side business in fashion to a golden opportunity that can’t be seized fast enough.

Why it is important: Retailers and brands are partnering with or launching resale platforms to contribute to circularity and reduce fashion’s environmental impact. Brands also benefit from launching their own platforms or partnerships because they can control the customer relationship and can claim revenue generated by products they’ve already produced.

While giving new life to old garments is one way to deal with clothing waste, brands will need to also reduce the number of goods they produce to actually reduce their total environmental footprint. The impact of the resale model will depend on if and when brands use it to help address larger issues ingrained in the industry such as harmful manufacturing practices and industry-wide overproduction.

A 2020 report by McKinsey and the Global Fashion Agenda found that for fashion to meet climate goals, resale — along with repair and recycling — needs to account for a much bigger slice of the industry. Also, the resale model is not perfect as there will be many items that are not going to be resold, therefore brands need to be honest about the flaws and challenges of such programs.

Resale sustainability: What’s real and what’s false