Outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Patagonia has integrated its Worn Wear resale offer alongside new product ranges on its e-commerce website, in a move CEO Ryan Gellert describes as a landmark moment for the outdoor clothing company’s circularity ambitions.
The development enables customers to choose between new and pre-owned Patagonia products in the same online shopping environment, bringing resale further into the company’s core business model.
Gellert said in a LinkedIn article this week that the launch was the result of a company-wide effort to give Worn Wear and the wider principle of extending product lifespans greater prominence.
“For circularity to have a meaningful impact on the apparel industry’s environmental footprint, we need to show that companies can produce fewer new things while replacing that revenue and customer demand with a financially sustainable alternative. A healthy resale business does that,” he explained.
“Moments like this make me incredibly proud to be part of this company. The people at Patagonia are at our best when we think big, commit to bold ideas and innovate our way into making them happen.”
Patagonia has repaired clothing since the 1970s, while Worn Wear began as a blog sharing customers’ stories about the memories associated with their products. The programme expanded into repair tours in 2015 before becoming the official name for Patagonia’s used-product trade-in and resale operation in 2017.
Its activities have since included clothing swaps, resale pop-ups and repair tours around the world. In 2022, Patagonia’s Fulton Market location in Chicago became its first physical store with a permanent, dedicated Worn Wear section.
The company said integrating resale and trade-in more fully into its operations reinforces its commitment to circularity and broadens its definition of growth beyond selling more new products. Customers buying second-hand items also benefit from the backing of Patagonia’s Ironclad Guarantee.
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The business is already operating at significant scale. Gellert reported Worn Wear sold nearly 160,000 items in the last financial year, while its dedicated team of more than 40 people in Reno, Nevada, processed over 230,000 items during the year.#
Patagonia said extending the useful life of existing products can help reduce the environmental impact of apparel manufacturing, noting that about 90% of its carbon emissions come from generating heat to power equipment in factories producing fabrics for new products.
The retailer hopes that building a financially sustainable resale model will encourage wider industry adoption, demonstrating that circular business models can meet customer demand while reducing reliance on new production.
[image credit: Green Retail World]
