Sustainable fashion is bigger than ever! Recently, negative reports of fast-fashion factories have been released and huge carbon footprints of fashion conglomerates have widely been criticised.

It is no surprise that second-hand and pre-loved clothes are rising in popularity. Sites like depop and vinted have taken off with people clearing out their wardrobes and earning a few extra pounds while also helping the environment, eBay have hopped on the trend by launching their ‘pre-loved’ clothing category in association with ITV2’s Love Island.  

Announced in February 2023, Ebay published a report that 90% of buyers bought pre-loved. This study details just how much buyers and sellers have converted to reCommerce for its sustainability and financial benefits. Online buyers have found the benefit of finding ‘gently-used’ items online for a fraction of the price if they were on the highstreet. Whether buyer or seller, there’s no denying the positive impact this will have on the environment. 

eBay CEO and president, Jamie Ianonne, said: “We know that our sellers and buyers are passionate about the sustainable and economic values of reCommerce. At eBay, these values are core to who we are as a company — and we work every day to build a more robust circular economy.”

This report also announced that 79% of sellers said their sales on eBay have stayed the same or increased over the prior six months due to the economy, and 93% of sellers said sustainability was either “very” or “somewhat” important to them. According to eBay, Gen-Z are the most likely to turn to reCommerce for its financial and sustainable benefits. Additionally, Gen-Z and Millennials are more likely to value the sustainable benefits of reCommerce. 

67% of U.S surveyors said that reCommerce is how they try to earn extra income. Worldwide, 90% of buyers reported buying pre-owned goods on eBay in 2022. In some countries, that number was even higher, 98% in France. Sellers in the survey also reported this increase, almost 75% of items sold were pre-loved/refurbished, with France again coming in higher at 77.5%. The category leader of pre-loved products was tech and electronics with 34% of buyers saying that they had purchased gadgetry.  

As a result of this increase, eBay’s reCommerce saved 1.6 million metric tons of carbon, stopped 73,000 metric tons of waste from going to landfill and created $4.6 billion in positive economic impact.

You can read the full eBay reCommerce report here.