The Resale Revolution: Fashion’s Biggest Brands Take Control

The global secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $393 billion by 2030, growing twice as fast as the broader apparel market. This surge in demand is not surprising, given consumers’ increasing interest in sustainable and affordable fashion options. As a result, some of fashion’s biggest brands are launching their own resale platforms.

For years, eBay, Depop, Poshmark, and The RealReal have generated billions in sales of these brands’ products without them ever touching a penny. This has left the brands with an untapped revenue stream that they’re now seeking to capitalize on by taking control of the secondhand market.

By launching their own resale platforms, brands can capture a share of this growing market while maintaining relationships with customers long after the original purchase. As Shawn Grain Carter, a professor of Fashion Business Management at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, noted, branded resale allows companies to “own the entire fashion life cycle,” from initial sale to resale, repair, and eventual recycling.

The narrative around resale as a sustainability effort is clear – but it’s also being used by brands to reinforce their environmental credentials. As Neil Saunders, managing director at market research and consulting firm GlobalData Retail, noted, “You can make a very strong argument that you are acting sustainably because you’re not encouraging things to be thrown away or going into landfill.” However, the bigger motivation is commercial – brands see resale as a way to expand their customer base, increase revenue, and stay competitive in a crowded market.

Younger consumers, particularly Gen Z and younger millennials, are driving much of the momentum behind this trend. They’re drawn to secondhand fashion because it aligns with their interest in sustainability and circular fashion while also helping stretch budgets amid rising housing costs and student debt. By operating their own resale marketplaces, brands can participate in a fast-growing market while reinforcing their sustainability efforts – and burnishing those green credentials.

There’s a bigger picture at play here, too. Some view this as a move towards greater sustainability, but others see it as a way for brands to exert more control over the secondhand market. As Saunders noted, “There definitely is a viewpoint among some of the more premium brands that they would prefer to control that channel, or at least have some degree of control.” By launching their own resale platforms, these brands are taking a step towards owning the entire fashion life cycle – and the revenue stream that comes with it.

As this trend continues to gain momentum, it’s worth watching how other retailers respond. Will they follow suit and launch their own resale platforms? Or will they stick to third-party marketplaces like eBay and Depop? The resale revolution has only just begun, and fashion’s biggest brands are at the forefront of this new trend.

The question remains: what does this mean for the future of fashion retail? Will consumers continue to demand more sustainable and affordable options, driving growth in the secondhand market? Or will this be seen as a short-term gimmick – a way for brands to jump on the sustainability bandwagon without making deeper changes? Whatever the outcome, one thing is certain: the resale revolution has arrived, and fashion’s biggest brands are ready to take control.