The fast-fashion wars are opening an unlikely new front — the resale space — as retailer H&M and fashion reCommerce platform thredUP disclosed a new partnership on Tuesday (March 14).
In announcing the H&M Pre-Loved resale shop powered by thredUP’s Resale-as-a-Service model, Sweden-based H&M is responding in part to growing sustainability concerns around fast-fashion’s environmental impact.
“We need to take responsibility for the impact fashion has on climate and the environment,” H&M North America Head of Sustainability Abigail Kammerzell said in a press release. “Circular business models can help us reduce and limit this negative impact, while continuing to deliver fashion and style for our customers. With the launch of our first resale model in the U.S. market, we’re taking the next big step in that direction.”
“We’re thrilled that H&M has chosen to partner with thredUP to debut their first resale program in the U.S., building on their global momentum investing in new circular business models,” said James Reinhart, CEO and co-founder of thredUP. “As one of the largest retailers in the world, H&M’s impact potential is tremendous, and we are pleased that thredUP’s Resale-as-a-Service is powering a scalable resale program to reach H&M’s customers in a new and sustainable way.”
Luxury fashion resale platform Rent the Runway made a similar deal with Amazon in January.
“Collaborating with Amazon Fashion brings Rent the Runway incredible brand awareness,” Rent the Runway Co-founder and CEO Jenn Hyman said in a press release at the time. “We believe strategic relationships like this can ignite a new engine of growth for our business. They also showcase demand for our products beyond our community and allow more customers to experience exclusive data-driven fashion from our top design partners.”
Read also: Rent the Runway Is Open for Business on Amazon
The sustainability push responds to the concerns of H&M’s younger client base, as Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) reported on the news that “Previous media reports estimate H&M produces 3 billion garments a year. The retailer’s target to reduce absolute emissions 56 percent by 2030 is verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative. In 2021, H&M reduced Scopes 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions by 22 percent and Scope 3 by 9 percent compared with its 2019 baseline.”
Responding to calls for more sustainability in the space is just part of the rationale behind H&M making its first move into marketplace selling in the U.S.
As PYMNTS reported Tuesday (March 14) in an interview with Trove CEO Andy Ruben, “by adding resale, trade-in and more options to shop, brands can further their engagement with customers and build more loyalty with existing customers because of the heightened value add, according to Trove’s Brand Resale Index. It discusses how brand executives thinking about moving into the resale space can better understand how to engage with this new cohort of sustainable shoppers and how they can make the most impact.”
See also: Trove Leads Lululemon, Canada Goose and Carhartt Into Resale Boom
While luxury fashion is well-established on resale marketplaces, the comparatively short shelf-life of fast fashion items makes the new H&M presence on thredUP a breakthrough of sorts. As Fast Company reported, last year thredUP asked its customers to boycott a Bay Area popup by fast fashion giant Shein, quoting Erin Wallace, ThredUp’s VP of integrated marketing as saying “This is definitely a first for ThredUp. It’s an indication that we think Shein is a real problem.”
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on March 8 that Shein “is set to raise around $2 billion in a new funding round this month and is aiming for a U.S. listing in the second half of this year,” according to unnamed sources familiar with those plans.
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