Madewell and ThredUP Spill the Jeans on New Partnership

Madewell and ThredUP Spill the Jeans on New Partnership

The popular denim jeans brand Madewell has long stood out for its recycling policy: Bring an unwanted pair of jeans into a store and score $20 off your new denim threads. Speaking of threads, the brand is now partnering with the online consignment and thrift shop ThredUP to sell more second-hand Madewell apparel online.

Such partnerships are important as the evidence suggests far too much clothing is still ending up in U.S. landfills. Back in 1960, Americans tossed about 1.7 million tons of apparel into landfills. By 2018, that amount had surged to 11.3 million tons, says data coming from the EPA. That same year, of the 17 million tons of clothes Americans no longer wanted, only 2.5 million tons of them were recycled in some form.

That last number sorely needs a boost. The most effective way, of course, is for people to buy less clothes, as many consumers interpret “walk-in closet” as “fill to capacity.” Failing that, there is evidence suggesting that younger generations, including Gen Z, are embracing secondhand clothing – partly out of environmental concerns, but there’s also money to be made.

According to Madewell and ThredUP, the companies’ goal is to collect one million pairs of jeans, which otherwise could end up at the local landfill or incinerator, by 2023. Madewell and its customers, of course, will supply the denim; ThredUP will provide the technology, i.e., the online sales platform. For consumers who want to clean out their closets, the process will work the same - bring in any brand of jeans for a $20 voucher, and any pair that are deemed prime for resale will be sold on Madewell’s resale site.

The alliance is similar to a partnership REI has had with Yerdle; the outdoors clothing and gear retailer can tap into a steady stream of customers who are eager to find a bargain and trade up from that pair of hiking pants or tent; Yerdle, which launched a decade ago as a share-and-trade platform, developed a robust technology platform that retailers and apparel brands like REI can harness for selling used or unwanted goods.

Back to Madewell and ThreadUP: The resale site kicked off this week with 3,000 pairs of women’s jeans appearing for sale on the platform. ThreadUP’s technology allows the virtual thrift shopping to continue, as Madewell can add new styles hourly.

Image credit: Waldemar Brandt/Unsplash

Madewell Forever launches with 3,000 pairs of secondhand affordable jeans

CNN —

Madewell’s long been known for great-quality, stylish denim — and the brand has just launched a new section of the website to make shopping for jeans more sustainable: The new “Madewell Forever” platform helps customers find a new home for well-cared-for jeans, whether they’re cleaning out their closet and looking for a place to pass them on or they’re in the market for a new pair of denim themselves.

Best of all, Madewell Forever just launched with 3,000 pairs of secondhand Madewell jeans in a wide range of fits and styles, most of which will be around $35 to $50. It’ll also include a full range of sizes, including plus sizes — but keep in mind that the sizing for each style will be limited, so be sure to snap up a good pair when one catches your eye.

You’ll be able to find all the denim you can shop by clicking on the new “Preloved” section on Madewell.com, which will take you to the Madewell Forever site. The superpowered platform is courtesy of a collaboration with popular secondhand marketplace ThredUp, which operates with an emphasis on the eco-advantages of shopping secondhand.

Shopping secondhand jeans is way better for the environment than buying brand-new ones — and with 95% of thrown-away clothes in the US able to have been recycled or reused, platforms like these help to keep perfectly good denim out of landfills — in fact, when you give a pair of jeans a second life, you reduce its environmental impact by 82%, according to Madewell. And with more than 40% of millennials and Gen Zers shopping secondhand, according to ThredUp’s 2021 Resale Report, it’s a trend everyone can get in on.

Start shopping the brand’s top-notch secondhand jeans at Madewell Forever now.

Madewell’s New ThredUP Resale Platform To Double The Life Of 1M Pairs Of Denim By 2023

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As part of its existing partnership with the secondhand apparel platform thredUP, clothing retailer Madewell launches a digital resale platform. Called ‘Madewell Forever’, the initiative is supported by thredUP’s Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS), a platform working on building a circular fashion economy.

Growing demand for circular fashion

Madewell’s new resale platform ‘Madewell Forever’ is supported by thredUP, the world’s biggest consignment platform. Its RaaS echnology and logistics are helping leading brands and retailers create circular fashion experiences for consumers with Madewell as its first RaaS client.

According to a recent report by thredUP, the online resale market is set to soar by 27% and over the next five years, secondhand fashion is predicted to rise by 414%. Gen Zs will be responsible for driving this growth with a whopping 90% already tried or would want to shop secondhand.

In addition, Madewell’s ‘Group Chat’ that consists of customer feedback from 5000 fans have shared that 61% of them already own secondhand. Another research highlights that in the U.S. alone, within the next five years, the secondhand clothing market will be valued at US$77 billion.

Libby Wadle, CEO of J.Crew Group, owner of Madewell said that it is their duty to produce quality products that will last for long along with solutions that help reduce apparel waste, keeping them in circulation. “We are deeply committed to extending the life of our product and are thrilled to unveil ‘Madewell Forever’ in partnership with thredUP that will meaningfully extend the life of our product. We hope this launch will set a new standard for the fashion industry and encourage our peers to join us in finding circular solutions that reduce retail’s environmental impact.”

Source: Madewell Forever

At Madewell, we believe that it is our responsibility to create quality products that are built to last, develop solutions to reduce apparel waste, and keep clothing in circulation for as long as possible Libby Wadle, CEO of J.Crew Group

Secondhand denim shopping destination

Given that 73% of preloved clothes are either sent to landfills or for incineration, the new 360-resale platform has a digital shop that aims to encourage people to give their used clothes and buy secondhand ones.

The platform has 3000+ pre-loved women’s jeans and every hour based on availability, new styles are added. Curated by Madewell, the clothes are provided by thredUP’s inventory along with the denims collected at Madewell’s retail locations.

Co-founder and CEO of thredUP, James Reinhart said: “It’s exciting to see a beloved brand like Madewell working to extend the life of their clothes and commit to a more circular fashion future. We are proud thredUP’s operating platform will enable and scale a meaningful resale channel for Madewell through ‘Madewell Forever’. Together, we are not only helping Madewell take steps towards their sustainability goals, but also furthering thredUP’s mission to inspire a new generation of consumers to think secondhand first.”

Read: 10 Stats Proving Secondhand Fashion Will Explode As Consumers Price In Sustainability

Source: Madewell Forever

Together, we are not only helping Madewell take steps towards their sustainability goals, but also furthering thredUP’s mission to inspire a new generation of consumers to think secondhand first James Reinhart, co-founder and CEO of thredUP

How it works?

Consumers can participate by dropping their used jeans of any brand or style in Madewell stores and will receive US$20 in credit towards a full-priced pair of Madewell jeans. The collection garments will be sent to thredUP and sorted into different categories.

For instance, if the denim meets quality standards, then it will be resold on the ‘Madewell Forever’ platform or select outlets. However, if the denim can’t be resold, it will be sent for recycling through programs like Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green.

According to the companies, consumers will be giving their old jeans a new life, and possibly doubling the time each piece is in circulation thus slashing its carbon footprint by 82%.

Through this initiative, by 2023, the duo is looking to collect one million pairs of denims. This will be twice the amount that Madewell collected in the last six years via its current denim trade-in program that has helped keep 500 tons of denim waste out of landfills.

Madewell and ThredUp first teamed up in 2019 for The Madewell Archive, a collection of upcycled preloved jeans.

Lead image courtesy of Madewell Forever.