Inditex started a new adventure in the UK at the end of 2022: The Spanish fashion giant introduced Zara Pre Owned where customers can buy and sell second-hand clothing. Inditex is now looking for partners to implement this concept all over the world.
On November 3, 2022, the director of the Galician fashion company Inditex, Óscar García Maceiras, announced that his company in the United Kingdom would launch the new platform Zara Pre Owned. Through this platform, Zara customers can buy but also sell their second-hand items.
New strategy Inditex Spain towards a circular economy
Zara Pre Owned serves as a test in the UK. This way, the company wants to see how successful this is and how this concept can be expanded to other markets in which Inditex is active. Zara Pre Owned is currently only available in the UK on Zara’s website and app.
It is the new strategy within Inditex’s sustainable approach in which Zara hopes to set an example for a circular economy. Inditex said the concept will be tested in other markets before being rolled out in Spain. To be able to do this, Inditex is already looking for partners and suppliers in Spain to set up this concept in their own country as well.
Fashion industry still very polluting
According to the United Nations, the fashion sector is the second most polluting sector in the world. The industry is responsible for more carbon emissions than all air and sea transport combined.
Although brands such as Zara and Pull&Bear, both of which fall under parent company Inditex, are known as ‘fast-fashion’, the chain has been busy implementing various initiatives in the field of sustainability in recent years. For example, the chain was one of the first fashion companies to replace plastic with paper bags. Zara charges costs for returning products from this month. Consequently, Inditex was still at the top of the list of most socially responsible companies in Spain in 2021.
Second hand market necessary
Buying and selling second-hand clothing is a potentially very successful sustainability strategy. Furthermore, it is also necessary to tap into a new niche in the market as the number of consumers continues to grow every year. In 2022, market research was done by the international marketing and communication consultancy Samy Alliance. According to this study, in 2030 the volume of second-hand clothing sales will double compared to fast-fashion.
Also read: Inditex opens worlds largest Lefties store in Madrid
