Zara launches resale offer in UK

Spanish retailer Zara has officially stepped into the resale market as it revealed plans to launch its own pre-owned platform in the UK.

Set for unveiling on November 3, ‘Zara Pre-Owned’ will be integrated through Zara’s physical stores, its e-commerce site and its mobile app.

Through the platform, customers will be able to resell their Zara items through a peer-to-peer process. The space itself will be organised by product categories, where detailed product information and current images of the item will be on display.

Alongside the resale offer, the retailer will also be offering repair services, allowing customers to request repairs on any used Zara garment from any season.

A wide range of repair options will be included in the service, including the replacement of buttons and zippers and the repairing of seams.

The offer will be available both offline and in-stores.

Resale, donation and repairs

Additionally, through the Pre-Owned Platform, customers will also be allowed to request that their used clothing be collected from their home for donation.

The feature builds on Zara’s already-available donation containers in its stores throughout the UK, with online donations now set to go to the Red Cross to either be reused or recycled in support of its own initiatives. This service covers clothing from any brand.

It comes as Zara and its owner Inditex continue to take steps towards a circular economy model, the company said in a press release.

This includes encompassing all phases of its activity, it added, from product design to the management of its stores.

Ultimately, the retailer’s goal is to urge its customers to make more sustainable decisions in regards to their used clothing, in the hope that they contribute to the reduction of textile waste.

It adds to the existing initiatives among Inditex’s Sustainability Innovation Hub, a platform in which the fashion conglomerate focuses on research into sustainable materials, technology and process partners alongside a number of collaborators.