Sustainable fashion supports the H&M thredUP store

The fast fashion wars are opening up an unlikely new front – the resale space – as retailer H&M and fashion recommerce platform thredUP announced a new partnership on Tuesday (March 14).

By announcing H&M’s pre-loved resale store powered by thredUP’s Retail-as-A-Service model, Sweden-based H&M is partially responding to sustainability concerns surrounding fast fashion’s environmental impact.

“We need to take responsibility for fashion’s impact on the climate and the environment,” said Abigail Kammerzel, head of sustainability for H&M North America, in a press release. “Circular business models help us reduce and limit this negative impact by continuing to bring fashion and style to our customers. We are taking the next big step in that direction after launching our first sales model in the US market.”

James Reinhart, CEO and co-founder of thredUP said, “We are thrilled that H&M has chosen to launch their first-ever sales program in the US with thredUP. As one of the largest retailers in the world, H&M’s influence is significant, and we are pleased that thredUP’s Retail-as-A-Service is leveraging a scalable resale program to deliver new and sustainable H&M customers.

Luxury fashion resale platform Rent the Runway struck a similar deal with Amazon in January.

“Partnering with Amazon Fashion will bring incredible brand awareness to Runway Runway,” said Jane Hyman, co-founder and CEO of Rent Runway, in a press release at the time. “We believe such strategic relationships will fuel a new growth engine for our business. They will also demonstrate demand for our products beyond our community and allow more customers to experience unique data-driven fashion from our top design partners.”

Also read: Runway is open for business on Amazon.

The sustainability push responds to concerns about H&M’s younger customers, as Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) reported in a news release: “Early media reports estimate that H&M produces 3 billion garments a year.” The retailer’s target to reduce absolute emissions by 56 percent by 2030 is confirmed by the Science-Based Targets Initiative. By 2021, H&M has reduced scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions by 22 percent and scope 3 by 9 percent compared to the 2019 baseline.

Responding to calls for more sustainability in the space is part of the reason H&M is moving into marketplace sales for the first time in the US.

PYMNTS reported in an interview with Trove CEO Andy Reuben on Tuesday (March 14), “By buying resale, trade-in and add-on options, brands can further enhance their relationships with customers and build greater loyalty with existing customers because the value is higher. Add according to Trove’s Brand Resale Index. He discusses how brand executives considering moving into the resale space can better understand how to engage with this new set of sustainable consumers and make the most impact.

look out: Trove leads Lululemon, Canada Goose and Carhartt to resale boom.

While luxury fashion is well established in resale marketplaces, the relatively short shelf life of fast fashion items makes H&M’s new presence on thredUP a huge success. As Fast Company reports, last year thredUP asked its customers to co-host a Bay Area pop-up at fast fashion giant Shayne, noting Erin Wallace, ThredUp’s VP of integrated marketing, said, “This is definitely a first for ThredUp. It’s an indication that we think Shein is a real problem.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported on March 8 that Shein is set to raise about $2 billion in new funding this month and plans to get a US listing in the second half of this year.