By Morgane Nyfeler, Journalist
The secondhand fashion space keeps evolving. According to ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report, the number of fashion brands operating their own resale platform jumped from just nine in 2020 to 148 five years later. What was once a niche experiment is rapidly becoming a mainstream business model, and the implications for circular fashion are considerable.
This shift represents one of the most significant structural changes in the circular fashion landscape in recent years. Brands are no longer simply tolerating the secondhand market – they are actively investing in it, building infrastructure, and in doing so, bringing recommerce to an entirely new audience. What does this mean for the broader transition to more circular business models, and how can the industry ensure the momentum translates into lasting impact?
An Established and New Generation of Brand-Led Recommerce
The range of brands now active in resale reflects how broadly the model has been embraced. The UK department store Selfridges launched Reselfridges in 2020 as part of its Project Earth sustainability initiative, positioning resale as part of a seamless shopping experience in all its stores. ARKET and COS – both part of H&M Group – have introduced take-back and resale schemes across European markets. Patagonia’s Worn Wear programme, one of the earliest examples of brand-owned resale, has continued to grow into a meaningful part of its business. And Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss have launched their own resale programme – a clear signal that recommerce has arrived firmly into the premium space.
Underpinning much of this growth is a new generation of B2B resale enablers that are making it easier than ever for brands to enter the space. Platforms like Reflaunt and FAUME provide the technology and operational frameworks that allow brands to launch resale programmes without building infrastructure from scratch. FAUME works with labels including Sandro and Maje, managing the full resale chain from item collection and quality control through to relisting and fulfilment. Reflaunt integrates resale directly into a brand’s e-commerce experience, enabling customers to resell items without leaving the brand’s ecosystem. Together, these enablers are lowering the barrier to entry and accelerating the pace at which brands of all sizes can participate in the circular economy.
The drivers behind this acceleration are well understood: tightening EU regulations, including the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and incoming extended producer responsibility frameworks; growing consumer appetite for more sustainable options, particularly among younger shoppers; and the commercial opportunity of capturing value across the full product lifecycle, not just at the point of first sale.
The Opportunity and the Open Questions
The case for brand-owned recommerce as a meaningful contribution to circularity is compelling. Brands bring scale, supply chain visibility, and authentication infrastructure that independent platforms cannot easily replicate. A brand-operated resale programme has the potential to reach millions of consumers that would never otherwise engage with secondhand fashion, normalising it for a mainstream audience and making circular behaviours more accessible than ever before.
At the same time, the industry is right to hold this progress to a high standard. For recommerce to deliver on its circular potential, it needs to be understood as part of a broader shift in how brands approach production and consumption – not simply an additional revenue stream running alongside existing models. Transparency around the impact of resale programmes, including how they interact with new production volumes, will be key to building credibility and trust with consumers and policymakers alike.
Independent Platforms’ Role in a Crowded Market
The growth of brand-led recommerce doesn’t diminish the role of independent platforms, but it does reshape the landscape in which they operate. eBay, Depop, Vinted, and Vestiaire Collective built the cultural and commercial foundations on which the secondhand market now stands. Their contribution – in shifting consumer attitude, creating digital secondhand markets, and demonstrating the commercial viability of resale – has been essential.
Where independent platforms continue to offer something distinct is in community and creative culture. Depop, for example, functions as more than a marketplace; it is a space where individual sellers build followings, develop distinctive aesthetics and participate in a broader conversation about fashion and identity. This human dimension of secondhand, rooted in self-expression and discovery, remains a powerful differentiator as the recommerce space becomes more crowded and more corporate.
Building on the Momentum
The rapid growth of brand-led recommerce is, at its core, a positive development in circular fashion. It signals that resale is no longer a fringe activity; it is becoming an expected part of how fashion businesses operate. The infrastructure being built today, from B2B enablers to in-house platforms at brands across the price spectrum, is laying the groundwork for a more circular industry.
The opportunity now is to ensure that this momentum is channelled effectively. That means celebrating and scaling the programmes that are genuinely extending the life of garments, supporting the enablers that are making circularity more accessible, and maintaining an honest industry conversation about what kind of results secondhand is delivering. The recommerce arms race is well underway. The goal is to make sure it is a race toward a fashion system that is more circular, more transparent, and more resilient – not one based on more consumption.