Resale Fashion is Thriving: What Sustainable Brands Need to Know

Resale is having a moment, and it’s looking like a good time for the future of the second hand market. Globally, preloved fashion is expanding 2.7 times faster than the broader fashion industry and is forecast to hit $367 billion by 2029. That is absolutely wild.

This is a full blown cultural shift for sustainable fashion. So here’s what’s going on.

Globally, Resale Fashion is Huge

Let’s put the scale in perspective. In Australia alone, 72% of people purchased a secondhand item last year. Across the country’s 3,000 op shops, over 100 million items were rehomed, with average prices around $5. In the UK, resale is on track to double by 2027, driven largely by Gen Z and Millennials. And in the US? The market is set to reach $74 billion by 2029, with 9% average annual growth. 

The reasons are clear. According to GlobalData, consumers are turning to resale to combat the cost of living crisis, reduce their environmental impact, and access premium products at more accessible prices. In fact, Revibe reports that shoppers can save up to 75% by buying secondhand instead of new.

Beyond Cost: Understanding Why People Really Buy Secondhand Fashion

To reduce resale to just savings is to miss the real psychology behind it.

There’s the thrill of the hunt: science literally backs it. Studies show that searching for rare or unexpected items - physically or digitally - activates the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine. That buzz? It’s real. And it’s not just about the price, it’s the narrative. Its unpredictability meets identity discovery, with a serotonin spike when you find something no algorithm could’ve suggested. 

Then there’s access. Resale unlocks wardrobes otherwise out of reach - designer labels, cult favourites, or one-season wonders - now available to those who couldn’t or wouldn’t pay full price. It democratises fashion in real-time.

And of course, there’s sustainability - but let’s be honest: for most, that’s a bonus, not the hook. What moves people is value, self-expression, and the feeling that they’ve outsmarted the system.

This insight matters for brands. If you’re in the sustainable fashion space, this is your invitation to market smarter. Show your value, your character, your cultural fluency. Don’t just sell ethics - sell identity, impact, and style with range.

Resale Value Is Now a Core Purchase Driver

For a growing portion of the market, resale value isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the reason they buy. 47% of shoppers consider resale value when making a purchase. Among Gen Z and Millennials, that number rises to 64%. 41% of younger consumers will skip an item altogether if they can’t imagine reselling it later.

In plain terms: resale value is now part of the buying package.

This rewires how brands - especially those with a higher price point - need to position their product. When a purchase is viewed as a short-term investment or income-generating asset, the narrative changes. Price is no longer just price. It’s value retention. It's ROI. It's flexibility.

Shifting Fashion Power Structures

Over the past three years, the online resale market has been growing 21 times faster than traditional retail. Platforms like Depop, The Volte, Vinted and Vestiaire have decentralised fashion retail. Your “customer” might love your product, but resell it a month later to a completely different demographic, giving it new context, styling, and value. And that’s the point: resale doesn’t just extend a product’s life - it redistributes fashion capital.

This shift is so significant in light of France’s recent anti-ultra-fast fashion legislation, which was structured with resale in mind. The resale market is massive in France. When Shein’s low-quality goods started flooding Vinted, France’s number one fashion retailer, it was seen not only as an environmental threat, but a resale ecosystem disruptor. The government stepped in to legally protect the integrity of secondhand commerce, and by proxy, its resale-first consumer economy. That is huge. 

What does this mean for brands? Whether you sell new, pre-loved, or rent, you’re no longer just competing with other retailers, you’re coexisting with your customers. Their platforms. Their tastes. Their timelines.

So, How Are People Buying Allll This Resale?

Resale isn’t just growing - how people buy second-hand is evolving, and fast. Revibe found in Australia, 52% of second hand shoppers are buying from op-shops, and 33% using online platforms.

That shift toward digital is matched globally: ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report calls out rapid acceleration in online resale, which is outpacing broader retail growth. Social commerce and AI-driven tools are reshaping the experience, making second-hand as discoverable and personalised as new retail. In fact, 39% of younger shoppers purchased second‑hand via social commerce platforms in the past year. 

What the Resale Boom Means for Brands

Resale isn’t a trend. It’s an infrastructural pivot in how fashion is produced, perceived, and purchased.

For sustainable fashion brands, this means meeting customers where they are - multi-channel consumers expect availability both IRL and online. Online resale’s rapid growth shows niches can scale, tracking where people shop second-hand helps brands position product, content, and creative strategy more precisely.

Retail needs to be seen as an ecosystem: resale demand is part of a broader consumer journey: trading in, flipping out, re‑buying. This shift opens up more than opportunity - it demands rethinking. If your products don’t hold resale value, they may not hold value at all to today’s consumers. If you aren’t present across secondhand ecosystems - online, in-store, peer-to-peer - you’re not just missing a channel, you’re misreading culture.

This is about identity, access, adaptability - and revenue. The secondhand market is defining where fashion goes next. Brands that get ahead of it will gain trust, visibility, and market share.

For a full breakdown of where the resale market is at, we recommend reading the ThredUp Resale Report 2025. 

If you'd like to work out how your sustainable fashion brand can evolve and thrive through the resale boom, let's talk.