In an interesting business move, Vestiaire Collective is turning the climate benefit of buying secondhand into carbon credits. The second-hand retailer will begin selling carbon credits this October, the company announced last week, in what it claims is the first initiative of its kind in the fashion industry.
The credits, certified by French partner Inuk, are based on the emissions avoided when consumers purchase second-hand clothing instead of new items. the company has made 55,000 certified credits available for sale, covering avoided emissions from its 2023 and 2024 transactions. Proceeds, Vestiaire says, will be reinvested into strengthening its operations — catalog curation, authentication, data refinement, and marketing to spur broader adoption of resale.
The luxury resale platform’s new initiative issues credits that quantify emissions prevented when consumers purchase pre-loved fashion instead of buying new. This approach is based on a rigorous methodology, which was independently developed by Inuk and certified by AmSpec2. It supports the transition to a low-carbon economy by unlocking funding for climate solutions through the issuance of carbon credits, each representing one ton of CO2 avoided or removed from the atmosphere.
The Sustainable Fashion Forum puts it in plain terms: every time someone buys pre-loved instead of new, it avoids emissions. Vestiaire is now packaging those avoided emissions into credits that can be sold to companies and brands.
As The Business of Fashion reports, the company is aiming to avoid controversies that have dogged similar schemes in the past by offering up fully traceable credits based on already-avoided emissions, rather than projected future carbon benefits. It’s the first time a resale platform has turned climate impact into a tradable asset, which could be a clever new revenue model or a slippery slope into offset-style loopholes.
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