🚫 Vestiaire Collective announced that they are not taking brands such as Gap, H&M, Mango, Zara and others

Another blow for fast fashion? Paris-born Vestiaire Collective is taking quite a stand against the likes of H&M. The luxury fashion resale platform has just announced that they would not welcome some of the most recognisable brands of the fast-fashion landscape, such as Mango and Zara. This is part of the company’s aim to foster greater awareness of the detrimental effects of fast fashion on the environment, as seen through their ‘Think First, Buy Second’ initiative. As widely heard the announcement has been, this isn’t the first time that Vestiaire Collective is up against fast fashion brands. Last year, it announced a three-year plan to progressively remove fast fashion labels from their site and store. Affected names included Asos, Boohoo, Naomi Campbell-endorsed Pretty Little Thing, and Shein. There are 30 labels in all, announced this time. These brands are, according to reports, “banned” from the second-hand fashion e-shop.

It is unclear why an outright ban is necessary. Or, why quietly rejecting those brands when sellers come acalling is not adequate. Online shoppers generally do not go to Vestiaire Collective, which has marketed itself to be a purveyor of luxury labels and designer brands since inception, to buy fast fashion. When we recently visited the site and clicked on ‘Shop our Favourite Styles’, we were quickly redirected to a page where the first item on the listing was a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet, priced at a not-small S$5,930.90. While there are sneakers by Adidas (not exactly a luxury brand, minus collaborations with the likes of Gucci), most of the items are not fast fashion-cheap. In fact, merchandise in pristine quality can cost as much as the original. There is no mistaking this site as one to find anything from H&M, not even merchandise from the recent tie-up with Rabanne.

Online shoppers generally do not go to Vestiaire Collective, which has marketed itself to be a purveyor of luxury labels and designer brands since inception, to buy fast fashion

Fast fashion brands, still popular among the younger set, would probably not be drastically affected by Vestiaire Collective’s move. Many, such as H&M, Mango, and Zara, have standalone stores here, as well as their own recycling programmes. H&M has ‘Repair & Recycle’. The brand even boasted: “Our Garment Collecting program is the world’s biggest of its kind.” Mango, too, has ‘Mango Likes You’ and Zara, has the ‘Used Clothing Donation Programme’. If shoppers prefer buying pre-loved clothing or accessories from these brands, there are other sellers, such as Refash that operate both physical and online stores. And for the majority of those into “hauls” (characteristic of fast-fashion consumption), they unlikely will scroll through Vestiaire Collective. For most of these shoppers, their voracious buying still does not take into account the true cost of their habit: effects on the climate, not from over-consumption alone, but also over-production, and the attendant costs related to shipping and distributing the merchandise.

Vestiaire Collective’s very vocal ban could be seen as a social announcement; a cautioning, even if we have heard it often enough. Or, encouragement to those who are able to, to purchase from them presumably better-made clothes that can survive more than a couple of wear. The company’s chief impact officer, Dounia Wone, warned: “fast fashion brands contribute to excessive production and consumption, resulting in devastating social and environmental consequences in the Global South (generally seen as the vast region that includes Brazil, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc).” Even retailers not dealing with fast fashion need to create a culture or spending habit that prods the buy-fast-dump-fast approach to clothing consumption into a serious check. Mr Wone added, “It is our duty to act and lead the way for other industry players to join us in this movement, and together we can have an impact.”

Photo illustration: Just So