thredUP launches a clothing line designed for the resale revolution.
thredUP Remade is the first affordable clothing line designed to be resold instead of landfilled.
Today thredUP, the world’s largest online consignment store, has launched Remade, a data-backed clothing line designed to thrive in the resale market. The new collection appeals to today’s conscious consumer, who considers the resale value and longevity of a garment before buying it. The name “Remade” speaks to thredUP’s vision of reviving closet cast-offs again and again, reducing overall waste and making the most of what we have.
“Retail is starting to look a lot like the automotive industry, where consumers are gravitating towards brands that have great resale value. The trouble is, outside of luxury, it’s hard for shoppers to know what apparel brands or styles are ‘smart buys,’ guaranteed to resell,” said James Reinhart, CEO and Founder of thredUP. “At thredUP we know exactly what resells. With that data, we want to help consumers buy clothes that can be resold instead of discarded — a mindset shift which is ultimately good for wallets and the planet.”
thredUP leveraged troves of resale data to design Remade, a line of affordable investment-pieces- that also fill gaps in sizes and styles that often sell out on thredUP. Reinhart says that “the reaction has been incredible from customers who shop with resale in mind and want to refresh their closets responsibly.”
The Features of Remade
1. Data-Backed Design: Styles informed by what resells again and again.
With more than 30K items resold on thredUP daily across 35K brands, thredUP knows what styles are timeless and always in demand. This data guided Remade design, ensuring the line consists of what customers want — without the fashion guesswork that results in production waste.
2. A Buyback Promise: Clothes with guaranteed resale value.
Every Remade garment comes with the thredUP Buyback Promise, ensuring it will be accepted and resold on thredUP. Sellers earn 40% of the original value. The high-quality construction and data-backed designs allow thredUP to pay4Xmore than average payouts for items at comparable price points.
3. Lifecycle QR Tags: An item’s history can be surfaced with a scan.
Every Remade garment has a scannable label that allows thredUP to quickly re-enter the item back into the circular economy. This technology will track how many times an item is resold and how old it is, allowing thredUP to price it quickly for resale, and pay the seller cash or credit.
Informed by resale data, and designed with technology, thredUP Remade serves customers the most in-demand categories, styles and sizes — from XS-3X.
We imagine a world where everything produced gets re-used again and again — and thredUP Remade is designed for just that.” — James Reinhart, thredUP CEO and Founder
The Benefits of Remade
1. Sustainability for the rest of us: buy into the Circular Economy at an affordable price point.
thredUP Remade is a more affordable way to participate in the circular economy — by purchasing clothes that can be resold instead of landfilled. The line democratizes circularity with accessible price points and inclusive size range (XS-3X), and fills a market-gap: well-made apparel, with high-resale value, at attainable prices points.
2. Made for consumers who consider resale value when shopping.
Consumers are buying more and discarding clothes faster than ever before, and reselling on secondary markets. Remade fills a ‘temporary ownership’ gap between one-time use rental, and a lifetime commitment to clothes — allowing for more responsible closet rotations.
3. Diverting waste, which is a huge and growing problem.
Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world next to oil. 26B tons of textile waste is landfilled annually. That’s a lot of dirt on our backs! So far, thredUP has recycled over 60M items, and the company believes Remade is a gateway to millions more.
The Designer Eye
After thredUP’s data scientists surfaced the most sought-after styles, designs were led by thredUP advisor and board member, Paula Sutter. Paula brings 25 years of experience guiding iconic fashion brands, including 14 years as President of Diane von Furstenberg, where she was widely credited with rebuilding the label into an internationally renowned brand. With Remade, Paula translated thredUP’s resale data into timeless fashion staples, architecting a line with the quality construction and flattering silhouettes of upper-contemporary brands, at affordable price points.
Part of A Bigger Mission
Remade is just one of the ways thredUP is reinventing resale to help consumers and businesses participate in (and find value in) the broader Circular Economy:
thredUP’s “Clean Out” service made it easier than ever to resell clothes back into the circular economy, and thredUP.com made buying used clothes trusted and fun — converting secondhand skeptics.
thredUP Upcycle Platform empowers retailers to launch apparel recycling programs for customers, making circularity profitable. Upcycle launched Oct 2 with sustainable fashion retailer, Reformation.
thredUP Goody Boxes — or ‘StitchFix for thrift’ — allow risk-averse consumers to try secondhand clothes without the risk or hassle.
And now, thredUP Remade is an affordable clothing line for consumers who plan to resell and extend the life of their clothes. The line is designed for the modern consumer who buys with intent to resell.
FAQ
Where did you come up with this idea/what problem are you solving?
Retail is looking a lot like the auto-industry, where consumers are gravitating towards brands with great resale value. However, outside of luxury purchases, most of shoppers are in the dark about what apparel actually resells.
At thredUP we know exactly what resells. With that data, we want to help consumers buy clothes that can be resold instead of discarded — a mindset shift which is ultimately good for wallets and the planet. We leveraged troves of resale data to fill gaps in sizes and styles that sell out quickly on thredUP.
What’s the vision of Remade?
Our goal is to inspire a new generation of consumers to think secondhand first. To get there, we have to be in the business of making people think differently about their clothes. Remade is a first test to understand: ‘Are consumers more likely to buy products designed to be resold instead of thrown away?’
If it succeeds, that’s a big unlock for the fashion industry, and hopefully the start of a bigger movement. A movement where retailers encourage reuse instead of perpetuating a disposable fashion culture.
Have you produced these garments sustainably?
There are two ways to approach sustainability: one is in the use of materials, and the other is creating garments that will last. We plan for Remade to eventually accomplish both — as both are incredibly important — but we’ve started with the latter as an initial test. We’ve also designed Remade to avoid excess waste by using data to create only the sizes and styles that we know will resell.
With some lofty goals to change the world, this is progress over perfection, and fast learning to spark the start of something bigger. Our ultimate vision is a world where all materials are reused and all garments are designed to be resold — keeping them in the circular economy and out of landfills.
How did you ensure these items will last?
Fast Fashionis by definition trendy “of the moment” styles. Remade is a line of timeless styles — not fleeting trends — that are constructed to be resold, not landfilled. Remade items are made from consciously sourced high-grade materials, bonded with quality stitching and seams that ensure a longer lifespan across multiple owners.
These garments are created ethically by the same manufacturers who produce garments for well-known designer and upper-contemporary brands. All Remade factories have passed social responsibility and compliance testing and participate in Better Works and the Her Project, benefitting women’s health and education. All mills are water safety and efficiency compliant.
I thought quality clothes were expensive — why aren’t your prices higher?
Like buying organic, sustainable fashion brand prices can be unattainable for most consumers. However, 75% of us would prefer to buy more sustainably if prices allowed!
Our goal with thredUP Remade is not to reach the percentage of consumers who are already buying high-priced sustainable fashion — but to give others a more attainable way to participate. Remade is a new, affordable way consumers can buy into the circular economy — purchasing clothing that can be resold instead of landfilled. The line fills a market-gap: well-made apparel, with high resale value and attainable prices points.