eBay partners with Reskinned to offer shoppers more choice on pre-owned clothing

While financial reasons remain the primary factor in purchasing decisions, 42% of eBay buyer respondents also cited environmental aspects as reasons for their purchasing habits

eBay is the latest company to forge a partnership with Reskinned, which takes worn items from shoppers and reconditions them for resale. For items that don’t meet resale criteria, they are either repurposed or recycled.

Reskinned will build into eBay’s existing offer of “pre-loved” clothing and will connect the new resale items with more than 20 million shoppers through a “brand approved” shopfront. Reskinned already works with more than 30 brands including Finisterre, Sweaty Betty and River Island.

The company tends to price its resale items at around 40% lower than high street prices, meaning shoppers can save money while cutting back on fashion waste.

eBay’s head of fashion Jemma Tadd said: “Across the fashion industry we know there is a greater need to build a sustainable future. Since 1995, eBay has extended the life cycle of products, whether through consumer-to-consumer reselling or now the Imperfects hub, so it’s fantastic to partner with Reskinned, who are at the forefront of empowering the circular fashion economy.

“Pairing eBay’s reach to conscious customers, with Reskinned’s expertise in garment repair, resale and recycling will help extend the lifecycle of products, reduce waste and showcase the variety of routes into a kinder way to shop for the shopper’s wallet and the planet.”

A survey of eBay customers found that while financial reasons remain the primary factor in purchasing decision, 42% of eBay buyer respondents also cited environmental aspects as reasons for their purchasing habits.

eBay has notably been showcasing pre-owned clothes this summer as part of its partnership with the Love Island TV series.

Each year, when summer rolls around and Love Island returns to TV screens in the UK, green groups express concern about the way the show encourages young shoppers to overconsume fashion. The show previously worked with online fast-fashion retailer I Saw It First to source all contestant clothing and has also partnered with BooHoo. Critics have pointed out that, according to Barnados, Brits are now buying 50 million summer outfits they plan to wear just once each year.

In a significant departure from this approach, Love Island and eBay agreed that contestants would only have access to a shared wardrobe full of pre-owned clothes. On the eBay website and app, shoppers will are able to access a new ‘Shop the Show’ tab.

It’s not just pre-owned clothes that are receiving more love. According to eBay, searches for ‘eco furniture’ and ‘sustainable furniture’ have more than doubled year-on-year, suggesting that shoppers are increasingly looking for pre-owned and refurbished products due to lockdown.

Searches for ‘eco furniture’ and ‘sustainable furniture’ were, respectively, up 123% and 171% in 2020 compared to 2019.

In 2021, eBay helped save over 17,770 tons of fashion items out of landfill. The company also confirmed that two “preloved” items are sold on the site every second and one refurbished tech item is sold every 10 seconds.