Internet-based luxury fashion site Farfetch has announced a new initiative, still in its pilot stage, to honour its commitment to a sustainability strategy. Farfetch is launching a resale platform which allows customers to give back their ‘pre-loved’ designer bags, in exchange for store credit on the site. The platform goes by the name of ‘Second Life’ and has hopes to transform Farfetch consumers’ attitudes by encouraging them to recycle old accessories. The retailer will also be able to capitalise on the increasingly lucrative pre-owned luxury market. The ‘Second Life’ platform allows you to upload a photo of the bag you want to sell and Farfetch will respond within two working days to let you know how much credit you’ll earn. Bags can be collected for free and you will receive the store credit once the bag has been received and verified. The online retailer is collaborating with Upteam, a vintage specialist, on this initiative. The Hong Kong-based company currently exchange brands like Balenciaga, Burberry, Celine, Hermès, Gucci and Stella McCartney. Farfetch is joining forces with Upteam as part of their increasing focus on sustainability, in order to make consumers more mindful of their purchase habits and aware of the harmful culture of fast-fashion. Giorgio Belloli, chief commercial and sustainability officer at Farfetch, said in a statement, “Luxury fashion is increasingly aligned with sustainable fashion. Resale is an area of increasing interest for our customers. Like the online luxury market, the pre-owned luxury market is growing rapidly, and is likely to double in size to reach $51bn over the next five years. A luxury re-sale programme like Farfetch Second Life allows us to enter this market and test the demand of Farfetch customers for this kind of service.” If that’s not enough, Farfetch has also merged with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to take part in their ‘Make Fashion Circular’ scheme, which drives collaboration between stakeholders to create a greener fashion industry. The scheme centres around three fundamental areas: creating new business models that keep clothes in use, ensuring clothes are made from safe and renewable inputs and recycling clothes. Other brands taking part in the initiative include Burberry, the H&M Group, ASOS, and Adidas. According to a recent annual Resale Report by ThredUp, the secondhand market will be 1.5 times bigger than fast fashion by 2028. By then, used items are estimated to account for an average of 13% of our wardrobes. Bring it on! Words: Maeve Campbell
Farfetch, the internet luxury fashion site, is launching a platform that will enable customers to return “pre-loved” designer handbags in exchange for store credit. Vintage specialist Upteam is collaborating with Farfetch on the “Second Life” initiative, which hopes to encourage increased interest in recycling among consumers. The move also aims to capitalise on growing interest in the pre-owned luxury market, which is expected to double in size to $51bn within five years. A recent report by ThredUp estimates that the secondhand market will be three times larger than the fast fashion sector by 2028.