Lululemon, REI & Patagonia Score Top Marks for Their Resale Programs, According to ThredUp

The company's new index, called Recommerce 100, tracks which brands and retailers have resale programs and their potential impact on the planet.

ThredUp is hoping to make it easier for consumers to find companies that are active in the resale space with its newest initiative.

On Thursday, the online resale platform debuted a new index, called Recommerce 100, that tracks which brands and retailers have launched resale programs and their potential impact on the planet.

The monthly index, conducted by ThredUp’s resale analysts, tracks brands’ adoption of resale and top brands’ estimated shop size with a focus on fashion brands and retailers who sell their own pre-owned products online in the U.S. The index also measures year-over-year growth in the number of resale shops brands are launching and includes the number of resale listings in each brand’s resale shop.

“At the current pace, the number of new resale shops launched in 2022 is expected to exceed the number of all other resale shops launched to-date,” said James Reinhart, CEO of ThredUp, in a statement. “The acceleration of resale adoption is a positive signal, but for the industry to make a significant impact will require a more meaningful investment from participating brands and retailers. The Recommerce 100 aims to shed light on resale shop penetration and recognize the brands making the biggest impact through resale.”

Notable findings from the March 2022 Recommerce 100 include the fact that there are an estimated 41 brands with resale shops with over 133,000 total product listings. ThredUp said in the index that if all 133,000 listings were sold, it would be the equivalent of 27,000 trees planted and 374 homes powered annually, according to Green Story Inc.

ThredUp further notes that in 2021 alone, 22 brands launched their own resale shops, and an additional 11 have debuted in the first three months of 2022. And of the 41 branded resale shops identified, at least 25 are small, private companies.

While this is encouraging news for improving the sustainability of the fashion industry, ThredUp said that some brands are barely scratching the surface of recommerce’s potential impact, as it found that 20 brands had fewer than 200 resale shop listings.

The March index also noted that there are over 40 additional brands with Take Back-only programs, with smaller brands demonstrating leadership in the space. “We estimate that the top brands’ average resale penetration is less than 0.1% of those brands’ total revenue,” ThredUp stated in the report.

Of the top brands leading the way in resale product listings, Eileen Fisher comes in at No. 1. Tea Collection, Lululemon, REI and Patagonia round out the top five, while Nation Ltd, Michael Stars, Kut from the Kloth, Levi’s and Madewell close out the top 10. Footwear brands Allbirds and Steve Madden ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, in ThredUp’s March index.

This report comes at a time when resale is expected to grow 11 times faster than the broader retail clothing sector by 2025, and one in three retail executives say resale is becoming table stakes for retailers, according to ThredUp’s 2021 Resale Report.