Second-hand fashion is popular in the Middle East, with a market size of nearly 6 billion yuan

A United Nations report shows that the fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions and nearly 20% of wastewater discharge. Although flying has a similar impact on the environment, the fashion industry consumes more energy than aviation and shipping combined. The fashion industry is also considered one of the main causes of plastic flowing into the ocean, which is a growing concern.

With so many clothes produced, where do they end up? According to statistics, about 85% of used and unused clothes are finally thrown into landfills. It will take centuries or even longer for the earth to "digest" the plastics and other waste generated by the clothing industry and consumers.

As people's environmental awareness increases, second-hand goods have begun to enter people's eyes and become a large market. Data shows that the size of the luxury goods market in the Middle East and North Africa will exceed US$12 billion (about RMB 78.14 billion) by 2021, and the size of the second-hand luxury goods market will reach more than US$900 million (about RMB 5.86 billion) by 2021. In the second-hand fashion market in the Middle East, two trading models have emerged: resale and leasing .

Retold, the UAE second-hand fashion resale platform, was founded in 2011 to provide consumers with sustainable fashion options in the fast fashion market. Its founder, Sian Rowlands, said that the reason for establishing the platform was also due to her love for high street fashion and filling the huge gap in the second-hand fashion market in the Middle East.

“The Middle East’s retail landscape is decades behind the rest of the world, ” Sian said. “In the US and UK, up to 20% of fashion retail and high street fashion is resold, while in the UAE that figure is less than 0.1%.”

Although the products on Retold are second-hand, most of them have never been used. 25% of the products are brand new, and the other 25% of the clothes from individual sellers have never been worn. Retold's value is to give clothes a second life.

For those who only need high-end clothing for specific occasions, leasing is a good choice. Data shows that the size of the UK clothing rental market is expected to reach US$3 billion by 2029. The clothing rental transaction model is also becoming popular in the Middle East.

Best Kept Shared is Dubai’s first fashion rental platform. It is a two-way platform where lessors can rent out their luxury clothing on the platform and renters can rent it at a fraction of the market price.

This rental method can also extend the life of clothes. Kelly Power, founder of Best Kept Shared, said: "The average Dubai resident buys 50 pieces of clothing a year, and 50% of the clothes in their wardrobe are worn less than three times." Kelly said that this situation has a lot to do with Instagram, because new things are constantly appearing in front of people, affecting their shopping choices.