An Exploration of the Secondhand Resale Industry
As part of Melbourne Fashion Week this year, our founder Kirsta participated in a panel at Beyond the Hanger: The Lifecycle of Your Clothing
The session explored how to shop more sustainably and what to do with clothes you no longer enjoy or wear, discussing alternative retail business models like resale, rental, and subscription. It dove into what actions Australian brands are taking, the ways we can safely discard our clothes once they have done their time in our wardrobe.
Below is an excerpt of Kirsta’s segment, edited for easy reading. So grab a tea or a wine and dive in.
Kirta giving her talk at MFW
I grew up in the United States, where the secondhand retail culture is much more robust. In general, America has a lot more *stuff* and it is normal to see a second-hand shop in every neighbourhood. I grew up shopping in stores like Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading Co, because in my teenage brain that seemed like the more accessible option – I loved clothes but did not have a lot of money and secondhand clothes were always a bit more fun (you never know what you will find!).
Crossroads Trading Co + Buffalo Exchange in my home town
When I moved to Melbourne, I was surprised to find that there were no second hand resale stores like the ones I was used to. The options were either op-shops or vintage stores; if that didn’t suit you, there wasn’t much else. Eventually, I decided that if no one else was going to do it, I’d have a go and start my own business.
Ten years on, we are very lucky in Melbourne to have quite a few good options for secondhand clothes which is so exciting to see!
- Buy | Sell | Trade – the store pays up-front for clothes (like Mutual Muse). You don’t have to wait for your items to sell, and the store credit is an extremely popular option. Some customers call this free clothes money.
- Consignment — where a store sells your items on your behalf, and you get paid once your item sells.
- Rent a Rack — these are starting to pop up all over recently, and are a great option if you have at least 1-2 racks worth of clothing to sell.
- Depop / Facebook Marketplace — if you have the time and will to manage the admin, these online sites enable peer-to-peer selling
People often ask me what I think about these other stores, and if it makes me feel competitive. I really feel like the more the merrier, having more options allows customers and businesses to cater to their particular niche. Ultimately, each type of resale method has pros and cons, and more options for people makes secondhand clothing even more accessible.
Importantly, a robust secondhand resale market allows consumers to extend the life of their clothes, without donating them straight to the op shop. They retain some of the value of their purchases, which they can put towards continuing to shop sustainably in the future. Reusing a garment decreases its environmental impact by 73% and extends the life of that item by 2.2 years.
Like this? Read more about Ethics & Sustainability and what drives Mutual Muse
xx Kirsta