Turning Old Clothes Into New Profits: Why Fashion is Betting Big On Resale With Treet CEO Jake Disraeli

Oct 20

Written By The Sustainable Fashion Forum

From Adidas to Madewell, H&M to Levi's, and Nordstrom, the list of brands and retailers getting into the resale industry is getting longer as consumer demand for secondhand clothing continues to grow, led by millennials and GenZ shoppers seeking more sustainable ways to consume fashion.

While resale has been around for some time, as more and more shoppers embrace buying and selling used clothing through peer-to-peer selling apps and marketplaces, brands are jumping on the secondhand bandwagon. Companies have finally started seeing resale as an opportunity to strengthen relationships with new and existing customers, create new revenue streams, and prove their commitment to sustainability.

However, despite brands using re-commerce as a way to prove their commitment to sustainability and “closing the loop,” advocates question resale's environmental impact without degrowth as resale's impact on fashion's carbon footprint depends on whether or not it leads to an actual reduction in production. So far, the explosion of re-commerce has yet to slow the growth of apparel manufacturing.

In this episode of Crash Course Fashion, Brittany Sierra talks with Jake Disraeli, the co-founder, and CEO of Treet, about all things resale — breaking down what's driving the growth of the secondhand market, if resale is enabling brands to continue to overproduce by giving them a solution for their excess, and how brands can approach the conflicting nature of wanting to be more sustainable with resale while addressing the need as a business to produce and sell new items. And true to the name, Jake shares crash course lessons on how brands can get involved in resale and create a profitable model that ensures making the most significant impact—for the business and the environment—while minimizing the risk of disproportionate investments and operating expenses.