Used Clothing Industry Statistics

In the US, 70% of consumers report they buy used clothing for environmental reasons (survey) [1]

In a 2022 survey, 59% of US consumers said they are more likely to buy secondhand items when looking for bargains [2]

“43% of millennials” purchased secondhand clothing in the last year (survey) [3]

“60% of Gen Z” purchase secondhand apparel (survey) [4]

A survey found 36% of respondents in the UK purchased secondhand clothing in the past year [5]

A survey found 25% of Americans thrift shop at least once per month [6]

In the US, the most common reason for shopping secondhand was “save money” reported by 73% (survey) [7]

In the US, “quality” was cited by 51% of secondhand shoppers (survey) [7]

In the EU, 67% of consumers say they would be willing to buy secondhand clothing [8]

In a consumer survey, 57% said they prefer buying secondhand online rather than in-store [9]

In a 2021 survey, 48% of US respondents reported they purchased secondhand clothing online in the past year [10]

In a survey, 41% of respondents felt that secondhand clothing is of equal quality to new clothing [11]

In a survey, 34% of respondents said they buy secondhand because it is unique [12]

54% of consumers consider the brand important even in secondhand purchases (survey) [13]

In 2022, 64% of respondents in Germany said they have bought used clothes [14]

In 2022, 58% of respondents in France said they have bought used clothes [15]

In 2022, 45% of respondents in Italy said they have bought used clothes [16]

In 2022, 49% of respondents in Spain said they have bought used clothes [17]

In 2023, 79% of UK shoppers said they have a positive view of reuse/recycling [18]

88% of consumers in a survey said they would consider purchasing repaired items [19]

47% of US consumers would pay more for sustainable or secondhand (survey) [20]

In a ThredUp survey, 62% of women said they bought secondhand clothing at least once in the past year [21]

In a ThredUp survey, 54% of consumers said they prefer to shop secondhand for environmental reasons [21]

In a survey, 31% of shoppers said they buy secondhand because it is cheaper than new [22]

In the US, 6% of used clothing is donated? (needs) [23]

ThredUp reported buyers paid an average of $X for resale items (needs) [21]

Consumers save 50–90% by buying secondhand (common claim but needs exact) [24]

eBay “Final value fees” for apparel category are X% (not a statistic about used clothing industry) [25]

Poshmark seller commission is 20%? (needs exact) [26]

Depop fees: 10% selling fee (needs exact) [27]

Vinted fee to sellers is 13%? (needs exact) [28]

average secondhand markdown vs retail is 60% (needs) [29]

US thrift stores average price per pound for donations (needs) [30]

Donation tax deduction value per item (needs) [31]

Resale marketplaces’ take rate averages 20% (needs) [32]

Company reported gross margins for resale platforms: e.g., ThredUp gross profit margin 70% (needs) [33]

Vestiaire Collective gross profit margin in 2023 was X% (needs) [34]

Depop transaction take rate X (needs) [35]

Average shipping cost in resale boxes is $X (needs) [36]

Average order value in online resale apparel is $X (needs) [37]

Resale pricing index: average resale discount is 60% for jeans (needs) [38]

Luxury resale discount average is 30% vs retail (needs) [39]

Average consumer spending on secondhand apparel in US is $X per year (needs) [40]

Used clothing retail employment figures: thrift stores employ X (needs) [41]

Global textile waste generation was estimated at 92 million tonnes per year (including mismanaged waste) [42]

Only 1% of textiles are recycled into new textiles globally (Ellen MacArthur Foundation/others) [43]

In the EU, textiles reuse and recycling rates were about 25% as of recent estimates (verify on EU report) [44]

EPA estimated that textiles accounted for 6.3% of total municipal solid waste in the US in 2018 [45]

EPA estimated that textile waste generated in the US was about 17 million tons in 2018 [46]

US EPA reported clothing and other textiles are among the top materials in landfill, with 10.5 million tons to landfills in 2018 (verify exact) [46]

UK WRAP estimated that extending clothing life can reduce environmental impacts; one estimate: each item kept in use longer can reduce CO2e by ~x (needs exact figure) [47]

WRAP reported that clothing reuse can reduce carbon emissions by up to 50% compared to new [48]

Life cycle assessment from Danish EPA indicated reusing textiles can reduce climate impact by 30–50% vs disposal/new (needs exact figure) [49]

A study estimated that reusing 1 kg of clothing instead of recycling can save 2.1 kg CO2e (example figure; verify) [50]

A 2017 study found that reuse generally reduces greenhouse gas emissions and energy use across scenarios [51]

Microfiber shedding is lower for reuse? (need exact statistic) [52]

Textile dyeing and finishing account for about 20% of industrial water pollution globally [53]

The fashion industry uses about 79 trillion liters of water per year (approximate global) [54]

The global fashion industry contributes 2–8% of global greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC/UNEP widely cited) [55]

Textile production uses 93 billion cubic meters of water annually (study estimate) [56]

Fabric washing releases microplastics; 500,000+ tonnes per year? (needs exact) [57]

A study estimated that each synthetic fleece releases ~250,000 microfibers per wash (relevant to new clothing) [58]

A secondhand clothing purchase avoids producing a new garment; one LCA showed reusing extends utilization and reduces environmental impact by a large margin (needs exact) [59]

EU strategy: textiles are a priority waste stream; 5.8 million tonnes textiles were generated in EU waste [44]

In the US, textiles recycled rate was about 15% in 2018 [46]

In the US, textiles recovery was 14.6% (2018) [46]

In the EU, the share of clothing put on market and collected for reuse/repair was about 6% (verify) [60]

Denmark? “reuse rate for clothing” statistic (need exact) [61]

Norway “textiles recycling rate” (need exact) [62]

France “textile waste to landfill” (need exact) [63]

UK “textiles waste sent to landfill” (need exact) [64]

Global “textile-to-landfill” share is dominant; one report says over 50% ends up in landfill (verify) [65]

Global resale market size was estimated at $350 billion in 2021 and projected to reach $1,566 billion by 2031 [66]

In 2022, the used clothing market in the US was valued at about $28.2 billion [67]

In 2023, the worldwide secondhand clothing market size was estimated at about $57.8 billion and projected to reach $77.1 billion in 2024 [68]

The European secondhand clothing market was estimated at about €16.7 billion in 2022 [69]

The UK secondhand clothing market size was estimated at about £4.9 billion in 2022 [70]

The global online resale market (including apparel) was expected to reach $61.0 billion in 2022 [71]

The global resale market was expected to grow to $411.4 billion by 2025 [72]

ThredUp’s 2023 retail resale report reported that “secondhand penetration” reached about 3% of total apparel sales in the US in 2023 [21]

ThredUp reported that 2022 secondhand resale value in the US increased from the prior year by 22% [21]

Global clothing consumption was estimated at 100 billion garments per year, and a share is diverted into resale channels [73]

The number of people in the US who bought secondhand clothing in the past year was 63 million (approx.) according to a 2022 survey [74]

The US thrift/secondhand sector generated an estimated $51.7 billion in sales in 2022 [75]

The US resale market revenue was projected to reach $80 billion in 2025 (apparel and footwear) [76]

In 2021, the value of the global secondhand apparel market was estimated at $166 billion [77]

The resale market value in the US for clothing and accessories was estimated at $28 billion in 2020 [78]

Vinted (peer-to-peer resale) reported 2023 GMV of €1.3 billion? (requires exact page) [79]

Depop reported revenue growth from $54.7 million in 2020 to $424.3 million in 2021 (proxy used in reporting; confirm on source) [80]

Poshmark’s 2023 revenue was $410.4 million [81]

ThredUp reported 2023 resale revenue of $776 million (company reporting) [33]

Vestiaire Collective reported 2023 GMV (reported as €?) for resale [34]

Tradesy/secondhand marketplace growth: “secondhand shopping has grown 21% since 2016” (US) [82]

In the EU, the resale/secondhand market for textiles was valued at €8–10 billion (estimate) [83]

Germany’s secondhand clothing market was valued at €3.2 billion in 2022 [84]

France’s secondhand clothing market size was estimated at €2.8 billion in 2022 [85]

Italy’s secondhand clothing market size was estimated at €1.7 billion in 2022 [86]

Spain’s secondhand clothing market size was estimated at €1.5 billion in 2022 [87]

Canada’s secondhand clothing market size was estimated at C$3.6 billion in 2022 [88]

Australia’s secondhand clothing market size was estimated at A$2.8 billion in 2022 [89]

The global online thrift market was expected to grow to $XX by 2027 (needs exact) [90]

The US fast fashion returns/redistribution channel generated $X (not reliable) [31]

In the US, 2.6 million tons of textiles were donated to charities in 2019 [91]

In the UK, WRAP estimated that 300,000 tonnes of clothing are donated annually for reuse/recycling [92]

In the EU, textile collection rates vary; a report estimated that about 2.5 million tonnes were collected annually for reuse/recycling (verify) [60]

Charity shops in the UK receive millions of donations; for example, Oxfam reported 2.1 million items donated to Oxfam shops in 2021 [93]

Salvation Army (US) reported collecting about 4 million pounds of clothing? (need exact page) [94]

ThredUp reported processing hundreds of millions of items since founding? (company figure) [95]

thredUP said it expects 16,000 employees? (not) [95]

Vestiaire Collective reported verifying/authenticating items before resale (needs metric) [96]

Depop introduced authenticity program for luxury goods (needs %) [97]

eBay reported that managed payments and shipping labels reduced return rates by X% (needs) [98]

Poshmark reported increased shipping weight/pack? (needs) [99]

Vinted reported using buyer-to-seller transactions with fees averaging 12%? (needs exact) [28]

The EU textiles strategy includes extended producer responsibility for textiles starting from 2025 (policy) [100]

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation includes requirements relevant to textiles (policy timeline) [101]

US EPA Textile donation guidance: textiles that are clean and in good condition can be donated; but no statistic [102]

Reverse logistics: “returns in apparel average 20-30%” (not used clothing) [103]

Resale authentication failure rate (needs) [104]

Average resale seller listing fee percent (needs) [28]