American e-commerce company eBay has partnered with clothing resale, sanitisation, and repair experts Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS) to expand the online marketplace’s second-hand offering and help reduce waste in the fashion industry. The announcement follows new research from eBay, which reveals a growing ‘resale economy’ in the UK, as more cost-conscious and environmentally minded consumers choose to buy and sell second-hand over new.

The partnership will help more brands and retailers to create and quickly scale resale offerings, while giving eBay UK’s 20 million plus customers more choice in second-hand goods. The first retail partner to launch on ACS’ eBay Shop is Monsoon, with other high street names set to follow, according to a press release by eBay.

eBay has partnered with Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS) to expand the online marketplace’s second-hand offering and help reduce waste in the fashion industry. The announcement follows new research from eBay, which reveals a growing ‘resale economy’ in the UK, as more environmentally minded consumers choose to buy and sell second-hand over new.

eBay UK conducted a survey of UK adults asking about their experiences and motivations of buying second-hand. Their top reasons were to ‘get a better deal or to find a bargain’ (32 per cent), to ‘cut back on spending’, and ‘the rise of the cost of living’ (both 31 per cent), followed by a drive to be ‘more sustainable’ (26 per cent).

The new partnership aims to tackle some of the misconceptions about the second-hand market, with strict quality controls, the latest technology in sanitisation, and high standards of repair helping to improve trust among shoppers and nudge more shoppers to choose preloved.

“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 our Imperfects hub, so it’s fantastic to partner with ACS, who are at the forefront of enabling the circular fashion economy,” commented Lucy Peacock, head of Preloved at eBay UK. “Pairing eBay’s reach among conscious customers, with ACS’ expertise in garment repair, resale, and recycling will help reduce waste in the fashion industry and showcase a kinder way to shop that benefits both people’s wallets and the planet.”

“As the biggest back-end logistics provider of resale garments in the UK, the ACS resale offering extends clothing life to minimise waste and keep current garments in circulation for longer. We take care of textile repairs, eco-friendly cleaning, quality control, and more to get those preloved items back on the shelf,” said Andrew Rough, chief executive officer, ACS Clothing. “This partnership with eBay is not only important news for the development of circular fashion, we process over six million items at our 200,000 square feet fashion hub each year, but it is a steppingstone for ACS as this will enable us to open our first brand approved shop front.”

Almost nine in 10 (87 per cent) UK adults surveyed said they have bought an item second-hand in the past twelve months, while more than six in 10 (63 per cent) say they have sold a second-hand item. So far, this trend is translating into sales, with eBay reporting one second-hand fashion sale every second so far in 2022.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)