Farfetch and ThredUP join forces to increase online resale market share

British luxury e-commerce site Farfetch has partnered with US second-hand resale platform thredUp to launch a new donation service that allows consumers to donate clothes and shoes they no longer wear in exchange for Farfetch points, while raising funds for charity.

Running on thredUP’s Resale as a Service (RaaS), the technology and logistics platform that enables circular fashion experiences for brands and retailers, Farfetch is the first partner to use thredUP’s white label products through RaaS. This follows the successful launch of Farfetch Donate in the UK in October 2019 with partner Thrift+.

This means that once an item is sold on thredUP, the seller will donate at least 50% of the total spend to a group of charities of their choice and receive the remaining spend as Farfetch shopping points.

“We’re delighted to be working with thredUP to offer American consumers an easy and sustainable way to update their wardrobes,” said Thomas Berry, sustainable business director at Farfetch.

Farfetch Donate is an innovative service that elevates the traditional donation experience by providing customers with a simple and rewarding way to make a positive impact by extending the life of quality pieces, and supporting multiple charities in the process. ThredUP is helping Farfetch do this in a seamless and scalable way.

It’s a hybrid resale charity donation model. Berry said it was important to be able to offer customers a service where they can fill up a bag of unwanted clothing for them to resell, with a portion of the proceeds going to a charity of their choice and the other portion coming back to them. We have a dedicated resale service called Second Life that focuses on high-end handbags sold in the US, UK and Europe.

“This is an easier way for consumers to clean out their closets,” Berry added. “ThredUP is one of the world’s leading resale sites and has deep expertise in this area and already offers this type of service to help them with resale.”

Berry said Farfetch plans to use the Donate service as part of its efforts to achieve ambitious goals to make it more circular rather than linear, which is a fairly unique service.

Farfetch has been selling second-hand goods for the past decade. Berry said the category has been successful because it focuses on hard-to-find unique items and vintage pieces from iconic brands.

Berry said Donate’s free door-to-door collection made it a unique proposition in the US market, with a focus on providing customers with a truly enhanced donation service.

Farfetch

USA

ThredUp