Vinted report shows second hand fashion becomes the new trend in Europe
Vinted is one of Europe’s largest online second-hand fashion marketplaces. Latest research from Vinted shows that shoppers, especially millennials and Generation Z, are no longer chasing the rapidly changing ‘fast fashion’. They are showing interest in buying fewer but better-quality second-hand clothes.
A survey of 100,000 users across seven European countries shows that shoppers are now prioritizing sustainable, and affordable fashion products. 65% of Vinted users now prefer to buy high-quality clothing. On the other hand, 84% said that the second-hand products they buy are equal to or better than new. Notably, 37% of users now use second-hand products for almost half or more of their clothing.
Thomas Plantenga (CEO), said that second-hand fashion is “on its way to becoming the first choice for European consumers.” Accessibility and user-friendliness are key drivers for making sustainable shopping more popular.
According to the research of Vinted, 44% of total users are millennials, followed by Generation X (32%). Both generations show a preference for low-cost shipping.
People’s shopping habits are changing with their present lifestyles. 8 out of 10 users believe that Vinted gives them the opportunity to buy brands or products that they would not otherwise be able to afford. Nearly 19% of users said they considered “reselling to be the right thing to do,” especially in France (26%) and Germany (22%).
This is the era of affordable and sustainable fashion. Each second-hand product saves around 1.25 kg of CO₂e in emissions. Collectively, Vinted users saved around 679 kilotons of CO₂ in 2023 by choosing second-hand items over new.
Women’s jeans save 2 kg CO₂e and men’s suits and blazers save 2.44 kg CO₂e. Vinted’s Senior Director of Sustainability, Marianne Geibels, explained: “We’re starting to see the massive impact of resale on people’s shopping habits, which is promising for the climate. We aim to increase this positive impact by reducing emissions from our own operations.”
From the report, delivery emissions as the environmental cost of resale delivery increased slightly, from 1.28 kg CO₂e per parcel in 2021 to 1.63 kg in 2023. The global used clothing market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2028, accounting for 10% of the global fashion market by 2025.
