H&M-owned brand Cos is launching own resale business, a move that will allow customers to buy and sell used Cos clothing. The digital platform, called Re-sell, is being positioned partly as a circular and renewable solution. But pegging resale as sustainable is not a simple claim to make.
The community-curated online selection will enable peers to sell old favorites and shop new pieces from the brand’s archive. The seller sets the price — and provides the product information and manages postage — and Cos will take a 10 per cent commission to cover the operational costs of resell. Cos is one of the first major brands to operate resale for its own products. The Re-sell platform will allow customers to buy and sell used Cos clothing.
GlobalData predicts the resale market to grow from $24 billion in 2018 to $51 billion by 2023. Rachel Kibbe, Director-Circularity, Retrievr however says, at this point resale should be the minimum a brand is doing to reduce impact. Critics also say the model can only work if Cos manufactures long-lasting products and becomes part of a larger shift in its business model.
