Collective for Change: Vestiaire Collective Aims To Raise Funds For Circular Fashion Charity The OR Foundation

Just in time for Earth Week, online resale fashion platform Vestiaire Collective has unveiled a new campaign dubbed ‘Collective for Change’ to raise awareness on the tremendous waste produced by the fashion industry, by raising funds for circular fashion charity The OR Foundation.

Paris-based preloved fashion company Vestiaire Collective is urging all fashion activists to come forward and sell their used clothes in an effort to raise a target of US$24,000 for The OR Foundation that focuses on drawing attention to the harmful effects of fast fashion and is combating clothing waste in Ghana.

With each listing, the platform will make a donation to the charity and has set an overall target of $250,000 that it hopes to achieve over the course of April.

According to the Fashion Revolution, every second, over 4,700 tons of clothing are being produced which is equivalent to the weight of 8 double-decker airplanes, and every second, a truckful of clothes is either burnt or sent to landfills.

To further negate this vicious cycle of overproduction and overconsumption, and encourage consumers to participate in this initiative, with each listing, you stand a chance to win a US$1000 voucher.

In a press release seen by Green Queen, chief sustainability & inclusion officer at Vestiaire Collective, Dounia Wone said that the way the fashion industry is functioning is putting massive pressure on the people as well as the planet. “There’s more clothing out there than humanity will ever need, and so much waste along the value chain. It’s our collective duty to stop this race to the bottom! Every second-hand item reduces the demand for new, and contributes to reducing that pressure. This Earth Week, join us and The OR Foundation in our “Collective for Change” movement, and trigger the change we want to see in the industry!”

The funds collected will be used to support a textile recycling lab project and the Kayayei food sovereignty program, both part of an extensive strategy that will boost the justice-led Circular Textiles Economy in Accra, Ghana.

There’s more clothing out there than humanity will ever need, and so much waste along the value chain and every second-hand item reduces the demand for new and contributes to reducing that pressure

Dounia Wone, chief sustainability & inclusion officer at Vestiaire Collective

Co-founder & director at The OR Foundation, Liz Ricketts, said that however controversial it might be, it is a fact that we do not need more clothes. “I work with communities on the front line of fashion’s waste crisis and I can tell you that the impact of our excess is tangible and devastating on many levels. It is imperative that the fashion industry divest from disposability, and do so immediately. We can all do our part by approaching sustainability as a culture, as a way of life, and not as a product. We can acquire clothing worthy of care, worthy of many lives and worthy of one another as mutual actors within a circular economy.”

“Most importantly we must prioritize justice for the people and the ecosystems who are too often forgotten in fashion’s long chain of supply and demand. This is why I am incredibly grateful for Vestiaire Collective’s commitment to recirculate quality pieces, for speaking up about overproduction and for tangibly supporting communities that have borne the brunt of fashion’s linear economy for far too long,” concluded Ricketts.

This news follows Vestiaire Collective’s recent financing round. Investors backed the resale giant to the tune of €178 million (US$216 million), with luxury group Kering and investment firm Tiger Global Management leading the round, bringing the platform its startup unicorn title.

Most importantly we must prioritize justice for the people and the ecosystems who are too often forgotten in fashion’s long chain of supply and demand

Liz Ricketts, co-founder & director at The OR Foundation

In April last year, to accelerate its plans for expanding in Asia, the company secured US$64 million and had support from investors including Korea-based tech company Naver-backed Korelya Capital and specialist female-led consumer fund Vaultier.

The platform has seen tremendous growth with it reporting that between March 2020 and March 2021, a 120% year-on-year growth has been noted in the number of items listed.

A report from the Circular Fashion Summit revealed that the sustainable fashion industry which includes resale, rental and secondhand, has the potential to grow from its present market value of US$3 trillion to US$5 trillion.

The ‘Collective for Change’ began on April 17 and will run till April 25.

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Lead image courtesy of Vestiaire Collective.