PrettyLittleThing To Launch Resell Site As It Bids To Lose Disposable Tag

Fast fashion retailer PrettyLittleThing is to launch a Depop-type marketplace later this year for consumers to resell their pre-worn clothing in an attempt to shed its reputation for disposable fashion.

The company, which has faced fierce criticism in the past for its part in encouraging a throwaway fashion culture, will allow customers to sell products from PLT and any other brand according to PrettyLittleThing U.K. and European creative director Molly-Mae Hague.

Hague, a former ITV Love Island contestant, was named as creative director in the summer last year in a move that raised eyebrows in the fashion industry at the time.

Having previously worked with PrettyLittleThing as its U.K. brand ambassador and curated a range of edits, videos and podcast interviews, Hague joined the retailer in a year-long partnership, working alongside the in-house creative and brand teams.

Hague said that she hopes the move into resell will help drive sustainability up the agenda with its Gen Z shoppers: “It’s not going to be just PLT pieces – you can sell pretty much anything on there, which is obviously encouraging sustainability hugely. It’s encouraging girls to think ‘this is actually in really great condition I don’t need to chuck it away why not encourage someone else to buy it’,” she said.

Hague said that the brand had been working on the launch for months and it had potential to “really disrupt the fashion industry”.

Launch Set For Spring

Although PrettyLittleThing is yet to confirm an exact date for the app’s launch, the company has said that it would make its debut in the U.K. before being rolled out to the U.S. in the latter half of this year.

The initiative represents a potential sea-change for the company. The fast fashion brand has become notorious for its cut-price fashion – notably it caused an outcry by selling dresses for just 11c during Black Friday 2020 – and, as part of the Boohoo Group, was caught up in a sweatshop scandal when it was discovered that factory workers in Leicester, U.K. were making garments for below the minimum wage and in poor working conditions.

And sustainability has become a major driver for young shoppers, which has led to the rise of Depop, a peer-to-peer platform where people sell pre-worn clothing.

A spokesperson from PrettyLittleThing said that, once launched, the pre-owned trading platform will sync with the user’s PrettyLittleThing order history, so that when someone is reselling an item from the brand, all the information and images for the product will automatically be pulled across. The marketplace will also allow users to sell items from other brands with their own imagery.

The seller will be able to ship the product internationally if they wish, and the seller and buyer will be able to chat via a messenger within the app.

It is understood that PrettyLittleThing began internal testing last week, with the service to roll out in the U.K. as early as May, before becoming available in the U.S. and other markets around the Fall.

Market for Second-Hand Soars

In its most recent report, pre-used specialist ThredUp said that the second-hand market is expected to double between 2021-2025, reaching $77 billion in value.

Indeed, London-based marketplace Depop is often times dubbed as Gen Z’s favorite shopping app. It was set up in 2011 and has grown to more than 30 million customers. In 2020, Depop’s most recent financial year figures available, sales more than doubled to $726 million.

Many PrettyLittleThing shoppers are already reselling their products on Depop and Hague said that she plans to take a lead in promoting PrettyLittleThing’s marketplace when it launches, putting a selection of her own apparel up for sale, with the proceeds going to charity.