I can still remember the very first time I walked into a Zara store. I had never seen so many different clothes before, and at such low prices.
Things have changed in the meantime, and what, only a few years ago, was a cheap and fast fashion chain is now being duped by the Chinese online fast fashion retailer Shein. TikTok and Instagram are full of videos of Shein hauls, and the hashtag #shein is among the most popular on these social media platforms. Shein currently ships to more than 200 countries and received a valuation of USD 100bn at its latest funding round in the spring of this year. Its website uploads, on average, 6000 new styles every day. This is astounding, even in the context of fast fashion (Zara only restocks every week). The company’s target market is composed of Gen Zers, and its marketing strategy relies heavily on influencers. Sometimes, users’ comments about the sustainability of clothing production, as well as the controversial working conditions, appear timidly but are quickly shut down by other users. Gen Z is the most concerned generation about sustainability within the fashion industry: according to a 2019 survey from Forbes, 62% of Gen Z prefer to buy from sustainable brands, and 54% are willing to pay 10% or more for a sustainable product versus a non-sustainable alternative. Millennials are very close to Gen Z in their approach to sustainability and fashion. There is, however, a gap between the way these generations want to consume and the way they actually consume: they are interested in fashion, in what is trendy or cool, but they have limited disposable income, and sustainable fashion can be really pricey.
The answer, for many consumers caught in this dilemma, is second hand. Second-hand fashion has been exploding in recent years. According to the thredUP resale report, published in September of this year, the US second-hand market grew a record 32% in 2021, and resale in the US is expected to grow 16x faster than the broader retail clothing sector by 2026.
Websites such as Vinted, The Real Real, and Vestiaire Collective, have seen their user base increase substantially, and it is growing the number of brands that are introducing second-hand into their business. In the end, that’s fashion now.
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