Until recently, buying second-hand meant running around thrift stores, searching through bins of clothes by the kilo or buying a vintage item in a slightly chic consignment store. But the phenomenon has taken on another dimension in just a few years.

Buying second-hand is becoming the norm for more and more consumers disgusted by fast fashion and aware of the consequences of this clothing overproduction. This eco-responsible transition, which explains the rise of new sales platforms, is also encouraging more and more players - brands and distributors - to organize their own circuits, to get a piece of the pie.

Beyond a purely ecological motivation

One might think that the ecological damage (of fast fashion) is the only driving force behind this second-hand movement. Oddly enough, this is not the only explanation for the success of this new market.

Second hand is no longer negatively connoted

The sociology of consumption has changed profoundly. Buying second-hand clothes is no longer negatively connoted as a social or economic factor. Buying second-hand is no longer synonymous with poor quality or cheap items. It has not only become a common gesture, but a real militant act that we feel proud of and that we claim.

An eco-responsible awareness

From economic consideration to snobbery

But other criteria also explain second-hand purchases: the economic aspect is obviously a determining factor. Clothes - often from fast fashion - offered for a few euros allow you to dress at a lower cost. For the youngest, this type of purchase allows them to continue to overconsume without breaking the bank or feeling guilty. These impulsive and trendy consumers, both sellers and buyers, give away their clothes to be able to buy new second-hand ones.

Conversely, older consumers, looking for items with high added value, are also won over by second-hand goods which provide access to unique and exclusive products.

A desire for singularity

Fashionistas are attracted by the uniqueness of pieces. Second-hand gives them access to past collections, other eras (such as the revival of disco or 70s pieces), or to unique designer pieces. Some even see it as a way to find clothes that they can "upcycle" as they wish, creating their own personal look.

Second-hand, a booming market

The community of second-hand customers is only growing .

More and more followers

In 2019, 25% of international shoppers purchased a second-hand fashion item, compared to 24% in 2018, which represents around 10 million new customers in one year for second-hand.
According to FashionNetwork, 29% of French people are buying clothes that have had a first life in 2021, compared to 16% in 2018.

And the study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group among 7,000 consumers in six countries (United States, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom) reveals that 69% of respondents say they are ready to consume more second-hand items in the future. Thus, by 2023, 27% of the wardrobe of consumers who practice second-hand will be composed of items that have already had a first life, compared to 21% today.

BCG estimates that by 2028, the second-hand market will surpass that of fast fashion in volume. Currently estimated at between 30 and 40 billion dollars (25 to 34 billion euros) worldwide, or 2% of the total weight of the fashion and luxury sector, the global second-hand market is expected to grow by 15 to 20% per year over the next five years. In France, it is worth 1.16 billion euros (Kantar figures).

A phenomenon that the health crisis has doubly amplified: the fashion sector of the research company Kantar revealed that in 2020, during lockdowns, 40% of French people sorted out their closets... Thank you Marie Kondo!

The Instagram effect

On Instagram, fashionistas specializing in second-hand goods display their latest thrift store finds. Behind accounts like Zoé Léger Vintage , Imparfaite , Petite Chineuse or Lapin Vintage , there are tempting digital showcases filled with vintage or second-hand pieces. And given the growing number of followers, it's understandable that they are managing to attract more and more holdouts who would otherwise have had trouble taking the plunge.

The beautiful story of second hand

From clothes found in garage sales to specialist sites, including consignment stores and platforms.

From second-hand to high-end digital platforms

The elders knew Guerrisold , the Ressourcerie , the Sunday garage sales and the neighborhood consignment shops. Part of the pleasure of rummaging was searching, imagining, cleaning, ironing before obtaining a decent garment.

Then the first digital Marketplaces appeared at the end of the 2000s: eBay internationally then Le Bon Coin in France, then in 2009 resale sites specialized in fashion which established themselves as the leaders in the sector: Vestiaire Collective (initially Vestiaire de Copines), Vide Dressing . But Vestiaire Collective like Vide Dressing remain the digital counterpart of high-end consignment stores. Only luxury brands are accepted and the site takes a substantial commission linked to its authentication service, a guarantee of security for the buyer and the key to its success. From 1.5 million registered users in 2013, Vestiaire Collective has grown to 11 million in Europe in 2021. As for eBay and Le Bon Coin, they remain very generalist sites.

The Vinted phenomenon

Everyone is getting involved

While platforms have become the main channels for the resale of second-hand clothing in France, we are seeing a "boomerang effect". Aware that this flourishing market could escape them, fashion distributors and brands have been trying for two years to integrate second-hand into their offer. The year 2020 marked a real acceleration in experiments around second-hand, from hypermarkets to high-end.

Initiatives of physical and digital distributors

Last year, many distributors created a second-hand tab or section.
In December 2020, La Redoute launched its own space for exchanging second-hand products between individuals, called “ La Reboucle ” and accessible on its portal or app. The Spartoo fashion platform referenced on the Marketplace of its French site offers several thousand second-hand clothes with the help of a specialized service provider ( Patatam ). Cdiscount had already launched this service, as had Zalando internationally.

And Auchan, Kiabi, Promod are among the many players to have installed second-hand clothing sections in their stores over the past year. Here again, the clothes do not necessarily come from their own sections originally. They are supplied by two service providers specializing in second-hand collection. To arrive at a paradox: a Zara dress sold at Auchan for 8 euros!

Brands want to take back control

Brands are now aware of the "dilution" of their image and the risk of seeing their products on sites that do not suit them. The resale of their items is not the only problem. Some high-end French brands have therefore launched initiatives to promote second-hand goods. Cyrillus has created its own resale platform, called Seconde histoire . Petit Bateau was one of the pioneers in this area with an app that went online in 2017.

Since 2012, APC has been collecting its used jeans in stores (for a 50% reduction on the price of new jeans), resold after careful washing and ironing.
If second-hand sales are always seen as a service, behind this desire for circularity often lies the - antagonistic - ambition to generate new sales, by capturing the sums virtually exchanged between consumers. As we have seen, the fruits of sales can be recovered in cash or in vouchers, topped up by 20% at Kiabi, 25% at La Redoute, 30% for Promod or Maison 123. But 60% of customers opt for the voucher.

Ba&sh has come up with a super smart system to build loyalty, authenticate and recruit, while keeping control of its brand image. This system encourages the resale of Ba&sh clothing on second-hand platforms, via the brand's website. Customers can put an item up for sale via a button in their order history that generates a digital identity certificate for the item of clothing in question. Once purchased by another person, they can find the history of the item of clothing using this unique certificate. The goal is both to keep customers in its universe, and to recruit other customers who would not have bought these new items.

Luxury enters the dance

In the luxury niche, Gucci and Stella McCartney have joined forces with the American site The RealReal to sell their second-hand products, while the LVMH group declared in December 2020 during its "Climate Week" that it was thinking about the subject.
As for luxury shoemaker JMWeston, it has been selling its own vintage models since October 2019. Customers can return their worn-out shoes for a voucher, which will be restored to their former glory in the Limoges workshops. Since January 2020, the Parisian stores on the Champs-Elysées and rue Saint-Honoré, as well as the one in Tokyo, have been displaying them in their windows at half price.
It is also a way of combating counterfeiting, a major problem linked to this market.

Rent, another circular model

The other economic model that is gaining ground among the younger generation is sharing and renting clothes from other individuals' wardrobes. RenttheRunway led the way in 2009, with a monthly subscription system. The first services were offers with a central wardrobe. But since then, several ready-to-wear rental applications between individuals have offered this new way of consuming by increasing the lifespan of clothes and making luxury items more accessible: By Rotation , Les Cachotières , mabonneamieparis , lafashionlib … Instead of selling and buying, renting allows you to monetize your wardrobe or try something new for a given time.

While we only wear about 40% of our wardrobe, there are several ways to add value to it while avoiding the waste of overconsumption. The downside: this circular fashion has already become a real business that brands and distributors are trying to regain control of.