The Reality of Fashion Waste Hits Home: Vestiaire Collective Expands Its Fast Fashion Ban

Back in 2022, fashion resale platform Vestiaire Collective announced that it would ban fast fashion brands from being listed and sold on its site, with the hope of battling textile waste and making our purchasing habits more sustainable. This impressive move saw retailers such as Shein, Boohoo, Asos and PrettyLittleThing removed from the platform – and a year on, even more brands have been added to the list. Read on for the rundown.

Resale Platform Vestiaire Collective Expands It Fast Fashion Ban

Image courtesy of Vestiaire Collective

The frightening reality of textile waste is difficult to comprehend – but what if it was right outside your door? As part of the newest phase of its circular fashion campaign, resale platform Vestiaire Collective is turning major cities into apocalyptic wastelands overflowing with discarded fast fashion items. The campaign aims to remind us of just how much clothing we send to landfill each year (with an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste produced annually) and encourage us to look to reselling, renting and recycling our clothes.

To this end, Vestiaire Collective is expanding its fast fashion ban, which kicked off last year and saw the likes of Shein and Boohoo removed from the site. Now, retailers including Zara, Uniqlo, H&M and Urban Outfitters have also been banned, meaning that their products cannot be listed or sold on the platform. 

The announcement comes ahead of Black Friday, with Vestiaire Collective’s campaign presenting a ‘Better Friday’ alternative that emphasises the importance of secondhand shopping over impulsive or unnecessary purchases. Vestiaire Collective has outlined a three-year plan to fight fashion waste, which begins with its fast fashion ban and also encompasses a partnership with The Or Foundation, a charity tackling environmental and human rights abuses within the fashion industry.

Image courtesy of Vestiare Collective

The third aspect of Vestiaire Collective’s plan involves lobbying for change. The platform is working closely with The Or Foundation to push for increased responsibility from fashion brands at a governmental level, while also developing its own strategies for ensuring that clothing that has already been purchased by consumers does not end up in landfill. 

Vestiaire Collective’s aim is to be completely free of fast-fashion by Black Friday (or ‘Better Friday’) next year. vestiairecollective.com