thredUP & Zero Waste Daniel team up to end throwaway fashion culture
The duo’s new zero-waste collection aims to keep clothes in use and out of landfill through thrift & DIY.
thredUP’s 2020 Resale Report uncovered that 1 in 2 consumers are still throwing clothes straight into the trash, further exacerbating the global fashion waste crisis.
Today, thredUP and Zero Waste Daniel launch ‘ReFashion,’ a zero waste collection made from 100% secondhand garments and fabric scraps. Their mission is to challenge consumers to break disposable fashion habits and extend the life of clothes through thrifting and DIY.
“Clothes are not trash. It’s time to put an end to planet-harming throwaway fashion habits. We hope this collection will inspire consumers to thrift more, toss less and get creative about how they breathe life into old clothes through DIY.” —Erin Wallace, VP of Integrated Marketing, thredUP
About the ReFashion Collection:
Every day, thredUP receives up to 100,000 secondhand clothing items from closets across America. Staying true to thredUP’s mission to keep all garments in use and out of landfill, the world’s largest resale platform partnered with Brooklyn-based designer Zero Waste Daniel to transform clothes not fit for resale into a 100% zero-waste capsule collection.
Here’s how:
First, Daniel selected thredUP items in like-new condition as the collection “canvas” or base pieces. He then received secondhand items that were not in good enough condition for resale. He transformed the unsellable scraps into Monstera-inspired leaves by hand and sewed them to each and every secondhand garment.
The zero-waste ReFashion collection includes 200 secondhand hoodies, leggings, sweatshorts, elastic-waist pants, and more — designed to be worn for a lazy summer at home. Handsewn by Daniel, each piece of this collection is unique and brings us closer to a waste-free future. Items range in price between $14 and $50.
“Living sustainably means living with intention. I intend to send nothing to landfill in my everyday life, and I hope this collection with thredUP will inspire others to do the same. From shopping secondhand to stitching new life into your clothes, there are so many thrifty ways to go zero waste.” —Zero Waste Daniel
The Impact of Throwaway Fashion:
1 in 2 people are throwing their unwanted clothes in the trash.1 It’s not surprising then that 64% of the 32B garments produced each year end up in landfill.2 In 2019 alone, throwaway fashion generated 208M lbs of waste. thredUP and Zero Waste Daniel believe there are already enough amazing clothes on the planet and envision a waste-free fashion future. If everyone decided to thrift instead of toss just 1 clothing item this year, it would save nearly 6B pounds of carbon emissions — the equivalent of taking half a million cars off the road for one year.
Together, thredUP and ZWD hope to make a dent in the global fashion waste crisis by inspiring consumers to thrift more, toss less and end throw-away fashion for good.
Coming out of Covid, Consumers are shifting to thrift & DIY:
The ReFashion collection was inspired by the newfound thrifter that emerged during stay-at-home orders. With economic uncertainty looming, consumers have a renewed desire to make the most of what they have and embrace a thrifty, DIY lifestyle. In fact, thredUP’s 2020 Resale Report found that 88% of consumers adopted a new thrifty hobby during COVID that they plan to continue.
How to join the movement to end throwaway fashion culture:
Shop the ReFashion Collection: Once waste, now fashion. 100% used. This limited collection includes 200 thrifted loungewear pieces picked and customized by Zero Waste Daniel. Damaged textiles that weren’t fit for resale are turning over a new leaf as hand-sewn patches on one-of-a-kind garments.
Extend the life of your clothes through thrift & DIY: Buying used over new and experimenting with DIY extends the life of clothes, makes the most of natural resources used to produce them and diverts (often non-biodegradable) textiles from landfills. Watch this video from ZWD on how to redesign thrifted items or spruce up the clothes you already have at home.
Spread the word & share your support: Visit http://www.thredUP.com/ReFashion to share the movement. For every public share on Instagram with #thriftmoretossless and @thredUP, thredUP will donate $1 to the thredUP Circular Fashion Fund.
About thredUP: thredUP is the world’s largest fashion resale platform, inspiring a new generation to think secondhand first. The company has spent the past 10 years reinventing resale, building a marketplace and infrastructure now poised to power the $50B resale economy and usher in a more sustainable fashion future. Millions of consumers use thredUP as the easiest way to sell their clothes and shop over 45,000 brands at up to 90% off — online, in stores or via “try-before-you-buy” Goody Boxes. Backed by world-class investors, thredUP designed a resale engine that has redistributed over 100 million unique garments from closets across America and is now powering resale for the broader fashion industry via its Resale-As-A-Service (RAAS) platform.
About Zero Waste Daniel: Zero Waste Daniel is a New York based clothing designer and zero-waste lifestyle pioneer who uses pre-consumer waste sourced from New York City’s garment industry, as well as other hard-to-recycle materials, to create his line of genderless clothing and accessories that send nothing to landfills. His story and brand went viral in 2017 with more than 35 million views worldwide on NowThis, Insider, Mashable, and Buzzfeed. Daniel continues to inspire change and make headlines by growing the mission of ending waste culture and redefining the meaning of “sustainable design” as a call to action for all who wish to participate. In 2019, his projects were featured on CNN, Buzzfeed, Paper Magazine, and The New York Times.
1 Source: GlobalData
2 Source: Green Story, Inc.