VESTIAIRE COLLECTIVE

By Catrine Nielsen

Vestiaire is an online marketplace to buy and sell authenticated pre-owned luxury fashion. The site describes in their sustainability manifesto how their mission is to transform the fashion industry into a more sustainable future (Vestiaire Collective , 2020). 

It is known that within the fashion industry there is an increasing tendency to buy sustainably and to market brands as sustainable – with claims as carbon-neutral, sustainable, environmental -and climate friendly etc. – great words and claims organisations use in order to highlight themselves as green or sustainable (Vejsgaard, 2021). 

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Obviously fast fashion is known NOT to be sustainable in contrast to slow fashion (Vestiaire withholds both slow -and fast fashion brands). At the same time, it is known to be a conscious sustainable choice to buy pre-owned clothing, going against the movement of buying fast fashion and recycle clothes instead, supporting the environment. In this regard it is interesting to shed some light into the mix between fast fashion/fashion and recycling and whether or not it can be seen as a sustainable choice. How does one “wrong” and one “right”become a right, when mixed together? 

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Vestiaire Collective seeks a sustainable future within the fashion industry but are they right to claim themselves as sustainable or are they in fact going with the flow, trying to sell themselves as an environmental choice to sell more aka. Greenwashing – using fancy words, manipulating users to think they are making sustainable choices, when maybe they are not? Lets take a look into Vestiaire Collective’s approach on sustainability.

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How are Vestiaire Collective sustainable?

First of all, they are obviously trying to fight the battle against fashion waste, by giving second life to clothes no longer worn and I have to say, they do their part in spreading awareness of sustainable consumption. `Collective change´ is a social first programme where experts in sustainable fashion are featured on Vestiaire’s Instagram sharing insight on topics like: second-hand, inclusive fashion, upcycling and gifting pre-loved fashion. 

They are also collaborating with luxury brands as Alexander McQueen and Mulberry in encouraging their costumers to embrace the circular fashion movement – meaning brands invite their loyal customers to sell their pre-owned items on Vestiaire. 

Vestiaire is nonetheless a certified B-corporation, which is a certification that evaluates social and environmental performances, transparency, accountability, evaluating working conditions, carbon footprint etc. 

Okay, so maybe, they are not just decorating themselves with fancy words – and i am on board with Vestiaire’s overall mission – in this way fewer items are produced, thus giving clothing, shoes, bags etc. a longer lifespan, saying no to “throwaway fashion” and working under great conditions and so on. They have also improved packaging, stripped out everything unnecessary and it’s now 100% reduced, recycled and recyclable.

But there is much more to it, a lot more that I can fathom in this article. 

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“Buy less and by better – Invest in quality”

“Buy less and by better – invest in quality” is stated on the website of Vestiaire. 

“Buy less” is obviously adamant in trying to reduce fashion waste. “Buy better. Invest in quality” is also accurate, when trying to fight the fast fashion movement – Luxury is associated with high quality, know-how, slow time, the preservation of handmade traditions – which are all in agreement with sustainability (kapferer & Michaut, 2014). However, just because these are terms associated with luxury, does it mean that all luxury brands works in this manner? Well, no. some luxury brands do not always follow the “founding rules” of what luxury means and stands for: they would produce in low-wage countries, with little control on raw materials and sub-contractants or licensees (kapferer & Michaut, 2014) which definitely goes against everything sustainability stands for. 

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”The world of luxury brands attracts attention as they are the highest symbols of the consumption society which now dominates the world.” 

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With the increase of luxury trading, the criticism and reputational risks has become higher, especially caused by the growth of social media. Due to social networks, consumers need for transparency has increased as well. This is where it falls apart – luxury brands such as Chanel, Hermés, Dior etc. are criticized for the lack of transparency(ref). 

Quality does not equal sustainability – it sounds great with a quote that states “buy less and buy better. Invest in quality” but high quality that pollutes, is not really quality at all today (kapferer & Michaut, 2014). 

So, I know Vestiaire does not directly approve of how the clothes are produced (if not in a sustainable manner), but wouldn’t it be more of a power statement to sort out what brands they are re-selling? They also market themselves as selling high end – great quality brands, but hundreds of different brands are being sold – even well known fast fashion brands as Zara and Mango. Even though the clothes are recycled, and does not come straight from production (I am talking about brands using terrible production/working conditions) , does not mean it has not been their at some point – It would make a better statement to actually be more conscious of brands that are recycled. I get that when selling a piece successfully, is getting people to want to do it again, and hopefully buying their own wardrobe second-hand, but could It possibly have the opposite effect? If a piece is sold easily or even with a profit – due to maybe it being a one of kind piece – it could potentially result in actually buying brand new products again, knowing it is easy to resell. My point is, maybe Vestiaire’s mission would come across better, if they were only supporting the trade of actual sustainable goods.

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Obviously “Fashion and human labour are inseparable” (Hoskins, 2014) as Hoskins mentions in The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion  – but there is an impeccable and very important difference in what sort of human labour. Maybe it would be helpful, when choosing what type of luxury brand to buy – if there is more awareness of how the production works – if a global app/website such as Vestiaire chooses not to “collab” with certain brands, that would be a great start in creating even more awareness in the production aspect. However, this means that consumers should also become more aware of what sustainable choices there are. 

Consumers tend to purposefully ignore sustainability issues when they purchase, especially regarding luxury items, even though they say they are concerned – because nothing should hurt the dream. And we all know, luxury is just a dream for a lot of people. Not everyone are able to afford it, even when offered way cheaper as Vestiaire does – so, when there is an economical capacity to support the dream, sustainability is not the most important factor regarding the purchase. 

Vestiaire Collective tries to do good and does – but they could do even better. Another disadvantage is the notable point of Shipping. Most products purchased through Vestiaire are sent to verification and then forwarded to the buyer. It is an extra step in relation to shipping, so it is of course a disadvantage of the environmental impact, rather than if you buy local recycling.

To sum up, there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to Vestiaire regarding the aspect of sustainability. 

Obviously, recycling will always surpass buying brand new. Vestiaire is of course a great alternative to most fashion sources in regard of sustainability – but they can do more. To answer the question if fashion and sustainability is compatible? The answer is: it can never be 100%, but as Vestiaire’s mission states: fashion can always seek to become more and more sustainable.