Towards Scalable Resale: ThredUp’s Resale Report

The secondhand apparel market has become a powerful force in the fashion industry, with growth showing no signs of slowing down. Despite economic challenges and a fragmented market, resale has emerged as a durable sector, proving its staying power. ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report unveils exciting trends and insights, highlighting the industry's evolution towards sustainability and circular fashion. 

Growth of the Secondhand Market 

ThredUp, in collaboration with GlobalData, reveals that the secondhand apparel market is on a robust growth path. By 2029, the market is expected to reach a staggering $367 billion, growing 2.7 times faster than the global apparel market overall. In 2024 alone, the market surged by 15%, with secondhand making up 9% of global apparel spending. 

A significant trend is the increasing consumer interest in secondhand apparel, with 58% of consumers shopping secondhand in 2024. Moreover, 56% of those purchases were made online, underscoring the growing importance of digital channels in this shift toward sustainability. 

Retailers are noticing the shift as well. A remarkable 86% of retail executives stated that customer demand for secondhand goods has either increased or remained steady over the last three years. These figures reflect not only the changing attitudes of consumers but also the increasing opportunities for brands to tap into this fast-growing market. 

The Role of Digital Product Passports (DPP) in Circularity 

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) make resale scalable by standardizing and automating the flow of product information across the resale ecosystem. By embedding each garment with a persistent digital identity that includes key data such as brand, style, materials, care instructions, and ownership history, DPPs eliminate the manual effort typically required to authenticate, describe, and price secondhand items. This streamlining enables resale platforms to process higher volumes of inventory with greater speed and accuracy.  

For brands, DPPs facilitate seamless integration with resale partners or in-house recommerce channels, allowing them to scale resale operations without losing control over brand integrity or customer experience. Additionally, DPPs support automated pricing algorithms, condition grading, and even predictive analytics for resale value, making it feasible to manage resale at scale across diverse product categories and markets. In essence, DPPs lay the digital infrastructure needed to transform resale from a nice offering into a core, high-volume business model. 

As highlighted in the ThredUp report, 78% of retail executives acknowledge the importance of exploring innovative business models that drive circularity, with a significant 72% actively seeking new ways to extend the life cycle of garments through programs like resale and repair. DPPs can be a powerful enabler of resale-driven innovation facilitated by offering essential data that streamline verification, pricing, and resale processes. This transparency builds trust in the secondhand market and reduces friction for both sellers and buyers. Additionally, DPPs allow brands to launch their own resale platforms or partner with existing ones, creating new revenue streams while maintaining customer engagement. By integrating DPPs, brands can offer value-added services like trade-in incentives, resale analytics, and personalized recommendations, making resale a scalable and integral part of their business strategy. 

The Policy Landscape and Consumer Demands 

As the secondhand market expands, there is growing recognition of the need for regulation and consumer protection. According to the ThredUp report, 65% of consumers believe the government should implement policies to protect them from deceptive marketing practices related to the environmental and social sustainability of apparel. Retailers and brands that embrace circularity and digital transparency through DPPs can stay ahead of potential regulatory changes, offering consumers genuine sustainability claims backed by traceable, reliable data. 

Moreover, 36% of retail executives report that they are actively seeking ways to extend the lifecycle of garments in response to new regulations around textile waste. DPPs can support these efforts by offering a transparent and efficient means of tracking and managing garments' entire lifecycle, from purchase to disposal or reuse. 

Looking to the Future: Resale, Repair, and Recycling 

The future of fashion is undeniably circular, and ThredUp’s report underscores how the secondhand market is poised to continue its rapid growth. As consumers increasingly embrace secondhand shopping, retailers and brands have an opportunity to tap into this demand by integrating resale, repair, and recycling into their business models. 

 ThredUp’s Resale Report paints a hopeful picture of a future where fashion is not only sustainable but regenerative. As we look ahead, DPPs will play a crucial role in realizing this vision, making it easier for consumers to make responsible choices and for brands to participate in the circular economy. 

Source:

ThredUp Resale Report 2025