Not long ago, buying secondhand carried a faint social stigma. A matter of necessity rather than choice. Today, that scenario has changed. The global secondhand apparel market is now valued at roughly $190–228 billion, and it is barreling toward half a trillion dollars within the decade, growing at a compound annual rate of around 10–11%. That is not a niche correction. That is a permanent shift in how people shop.
The numbers from ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report – widely regarded as the most comprehensive measure of the sector are striking. In the United States alone, the secondhand market grew 14% in 2024, its strongest pace since 2021, outpacing broader retail clothing growth by a factor of five. Online resale accelerated to 23% growth in the same year, and is projected to nearly double by 2029, reaching $40 billion in the US market alone.
What is driving this? Three forces, operating in concert. The first is economic: inflation, rising living costs, and a value-conscious generation that calculates cost-per-wear before reaching for a credit card. The second is cultural: Gen Z and Millennials have made thrifting not just acceptable but aspirational, with 48% of under-44 shoppers now turning to secondhand first. The third is environmental and it deserves more than a footnote.
The fashion industry remains responsible for roughly 10% of global carbon emissions, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, while approximately 80% of discarded clothing ends up in landfills or is incinerated rather than recycled. Against this backdrop, the repair economy once an afterthought is quietly gaining serious momentum.
The global clothing and footwear repair market was valued at approximately $3.6–5.2 billion in 2024, and is forecast to grow steadily through the next decade. More telling than the headline figures is what is changing at the cultural level. Patagonia’s Worn Wear program processed over 100,000 repairs in 2024 alone. Dr. Martens partnered with The Boot Repair Co. to launch a formal repair service in the UK. Over 27% of fashion brands now collaborate with repair businesses for after-sales maintenance. Repair is becoming a brand strategy, not just a consumer habit.
“Extending the life of a garment by just nine months reduces its carbon, water, and waste footprint by 20–30%.”— UN Environment Programme
The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation now mandates that clothing be designed for repairability, a standard that pushes brands to think beyond the first sale. Platforms like Vestiaire Collective, Depop, and Vinted are doing more than facilitating transactions; they are changing what consumers expect from ownership. Vinted reported 61% revenue growth in 2023. The RealReal hosted celebrity closet sales featuring Kate Moss and Julianne Moore – luxury resale as cultural event.
The headwinds are real. Fast fashion still competes aggressively on price. Repair costs rose roughly 18% between 2020 and 2024, creating friction in the lower-cost segment. Authentication and quality inconsistency remain persistent consumer concerns. And despite 94% of retail executives acknowledging that their customers already engage with the secondhand market, 86% of those without resale programs cite uncertainty about how to start.
But the direction is clear. The secondhand market is not a passing trend, it reflects a genuine change in what fashion means to people. Ownership with longevity. Style with a conscience. A jacket that outlasts its season, a boot sole replaced rather than discarded. The most durable luxury, it turns out, might simply be keeping things alive.
