In this episode of Talk Commerce, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Wilson Griffin, CEO and founder of Recurate. Wilson shared his insights on the resale market, sustainable fashion, and how Recurate empowers brands to embrace circularity.
The Environmental Impact of Fashion
Wilson highlighted the massive environmental footprint of the apparel supply chain, particularly in the fashion industry. He emphasized the duty of brands and enablers like Recurate to optimize manufactured product use.
“The apparel supply chain fashion in particular, but this is true of other industries as well, is it has a massive, massive environmental footprint. Just the amount of raw materials and resources that go into manufacturing the products that we buy.”
We can significantly reduce the industry’s environmental impact by extending product life cycles and reducing dependence on manufacturing new items.
Bringing Brands into the Resale Economy
Historically, brands have been excluded from the resale economy, with platforms like eBay and Poshmark facilitating secondhand sales without brand involvement. Recurate aims to change that by helping brands manage their own resale programs.
“What we’ve set out to do is help those brands to participate in this. So all of a sudden brands are incentivized to make higher quality goods that will last longer because they’re actually going to benefit from the second, third and fourth sales.”
By connecting brands with the resale market, Recurate enables them to benefit from multiple product life cycles, incentivizing the production of higher quality, longer-lasting goods.
Resale OS 2.0: Streamlining the Resale Process
Wilson introduced Recurate’s latest offering, Resale OS 2.0, which provides modular solutions for brands to integrate resale into their existing e-commerce ecosystem. With features like seller influencer closets and the ability to quickly launch resale programs, Recurate is making it easier than ever for brands to embrace circularity.
“The way that we, uh, work with brands is we’ve we fully integrate into their sort of e-commerce ecosystem tech stack. Uh, what that means is that we have access to a lot of that brand’s information as far as, you know, customer purchase history, the brand’s catalog.”
This integration allows brands to leverage customer data and product information to optimize their resale offerings and meet customer demand.
The Future of Sustainable Fashion
As we move into 2024 and beyond, Wilson sees a significant opportunity for brands to invest in sustainable practices and embrace the resale market. By offering secondhand products alongside new items, brands can grow their revenue without increasing their environmental footprint.
“There really is no incremental water usage or greenhouse gas emissions to sell a product a second time. All of that environmental impact went into the first sale of that product.”
Brands prioritizing sustainability, transparency, and innovation in their supply chains will be well-positioned to thrive in the growing resale economy.
As a fervent advocate for sustainability, I believe that the work Recurate does is crucial in transforming the fashion industry. By empowering brands to embrace resale and circularity, we can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the apparel supply chain while still meeting consumer demand.
I encourage listeners to check out Recurate’s website and reach out if you’re a brand interested in launching a resale program. As consumers, we can also support brands that offer resale options and prioritize sustainability.
To hear more of Wilson’s insights and the full conversation, be sure to listen to the complete Talk Commerce podcast episode. Let’s work together to revolutionize the fashion industry and create a more sustainable future.
