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cled responsibly through programs like Cotton Inc.’s Blue Jeans Go Green program. Madewell Forever expands upon the brand’s partnership with ThredUp, which began in 2019 with Madewell Archive, an in-store program that brought secondhand Madewell jeans to six U.S. stores. The uptick in the secondhand market inspired the brand to revisit—and refuel— the partnership.
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Beyond the brand H&M is also dipping its toes in the category by testing a secondhand initiative through its Canada business, which launched H&M Rewear in September. According to Frédéric Tavoukdjian, country manager of H&M Canada, the program “provides shoppers with an option for recycling garments and becoming active participants in circular fashion” as the call for resale heightens. “Now more than ever, Canadian shoppers are looking for good, reliable resale platforms,” he said. “We wanted to provide a reliable and simple platform for this growing demand.” One of the defining features of H&M Canada’s secondhand platform is that it offers used garments from any fashion brand— not just H&M—and sellers can create their own digital listings. Through hmrewear.com, sellers create a post by filling in the description, size, color, condition and selling price for their product. If they’re reselling an H&M product, they can search the Rewear database for the product—sometimes using just one uploaded image—and the listing will collect most of the data points automatically. “We felt it was important to be inclusive of all brands in Canada rather than just limiting this platform for H&M products,” Tavoukdjian said. “We want to provide a destination for Canadians to become active participants in circularity and find new homes for garments from any brand in their closet.”
The company also offers a “premium experience” in which it retouches the first picture of the post for optimal views and helps determine pricing using an algorithm that detects the most competitive price. Sellers can be paid for any listing that sells with either cash via direct deposit or H&M
store credit with a 20 percent bonus that can be redeemed in any stores or on hm.com in Canada. Walmart took a similar approach with its resale business, which offers pre-owned fashion from labels including Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Nike, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein and more. In May 2020, RIVET NO.13 / OCTOBER 2021
the retail giant partnered with ThredUp to launch its resale platform on its website, which originally featured nearly 750,000 pre-owned items across women’s and children’s apparel, accessories, footwear and handbags. According to a company spokesperson, that number now hovers around 2 million. ThredUp is responsible for supplying the inventory and fulfilling and shipping the items directly to the customer. Shoppers also receive the added benefit of Walmart’s free shipping policy on orders over $35 and can take advantage of free returns at Walmart stores. Looking ahead Retailers’ efforts to promote secondhand aids in the fashion industry’s greater shift to circularity. Global initiatives such as the Denim Deal and the Ellen MacArthur Jeans Redesign program have helped bring together a fractured industry under one shared goal of keeping high-quality items in use for longer. As companies with major market share—Walmart alone sees approximately 220 million customers and members at its stores and websites every week—their efforts to redistribute high-quality clothing as opposed to creating and selling new items has the potential to make a major global impact and drive their sustainability efforts forward. Madewell is ensuring its program has a big effect by pledging alongside ThredUp to collect 1 million pairs of denim through Madewell Forever by 2023— the same number of jeans it was able to acquire in six years through its pre-existing denim trade-in program. “We have long been focused on creating a circular journey for jeans,” Hershfield said. “We are committed to creating high-quality products that stand the test of time, truly embracing circularity by extending the life of our products and reducing our impact on the environment.”