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You don’t need to shop ‘new’ to look good. Shop pre-loved from the new Zara pre-owned platform. From handbags to dresses to blazers and boots are sixteen under $20 pre-loved pieces to buy, wear, and resell.
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There’s a lot to love about all the ways the fashion industry is reducing its fast waste model this year. Globally an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste is created each year. But, this year legislators, brands, and organizations are taking sustainable steps to do something about it. In April, France became the first country to pass legislation banning fast fashion waste. In June, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) rolled out the first Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus. This month, Zara online is rolling out a pre-owned platform where shoppers can indulge in the trends in a way that can help reduce waste.
After test runs in countries throughout Europe, the fast fashion retailer has finally launched its pre-loved platform for its U.S.-based customers to buy and sell pre-loved items. The platform is similar to other fan favorites- Depop, Vestiaire, and Poshmark – for buying and selling pre-loved clothing. Sellers can sell multiple Zara items and offer descriptions of the item’s size, style, and condition. In addition to the pre-loved Zara online store, the Spanish retailer will also offer repair services to extend the life of a garment and clothing donation boxes in partnership with Red Cross to further reduce its linear waste model.
According to the United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion promoting second-hand fashion to retailers and consumers is an important step in curving the negative environmental impact of the fashion industry. Initiatives like repairing, reselling, and recycling are all named as sustainable ways to reduce the million of tons of waste generated by the fashion industry.
When shopping for new pieces for your wardrobe shopping pre-loved is one way to minimize your contribution to landfill waste. You can also take it a step further and try to minimize plastic waste by:
- Looking for organic or natural materials. While these aren’t popular materials with fast fashion brands, they’re worth looking for as they are better than polyester which breaks down into microplastics when washed.
- Looking for ways to combine shipping. Pre-loved sites like Zara’s have items shipped from multiple sellers. Shop a seller’s other available items to have a bulk order to avoid shipping multiple small packages if you can.
- Avoiding plastic packaging. If at all possible, leave a note for the seller asking for no plastic packaging.
If you’re a fan of Zara, here are sixteen picks to buy, wear, and recycle.
Winter Whites
It-Girl Classics
Braided Belt Mini Skirt
from $2.99
