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Vintage Clothing Statistics

Secondhand fashion is surging as fewer times are worn, with markets growing fast and most clothing ending in landfill or incineration.

Vintage and secondhand clothing are reshaping how people consume fashion, from younger shoppers on resale platforms to older buyers seeking value and variety. The challenge is the lifecycle: average wear frequency has dropped 36% versus 15 years ago, and only 22% of post-consumer textile waste was collected separately for reuse or recycling in the EU in 2020. On this page, you’ll see how resale markets are scaling worldwide, what motivates consumers, and where policy and infrastructure could redirect textiles toward reuse.

Alexander EserWritten byAlexander EserCo-Founder, Rawshot.ai
UpdatedApril 19, 2026Read6 minSources35 verified
Vintage Clothing Statistics

Executive Summary

Key Takeaways

Research reviewed

Secondhand fashion is surging as fewer times are worn, with markets growing fast and most clothing ending in landfill or incineration.

  • eBay’s global Circular Fashion Fund committed $1.2 million to support fashion startups

  • The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% compared with 15 years ago

  • Only 22% of post-consumer textile waste was collected separately for reuse or recycling in the EU in 2020

  • 45% of younger consumers said they would spend more on an apparel item if they knew they could resell it in the future

  • Vestiaire Collective said one in three items sold on its platform in 2023 was from a brand partner closet or professional seller channel

  • 65% of global consumers under 35 were already buying on resale platforms according to a cited luxury/resale survey

  • The global secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $289 billion by 2027

  • The U.S. secondhand apparel market was expected to double by 2026

  • The global secondhand apparel market was expected to double in value to $77 billion by 2025

  • 19% of Baby Boomers bought secondhand apparel in 2022

  • 47% of U.S. consumers bought secondhand apparel in 2022

  • 29% of U.S. consumers said they buy secondhand apparel because they can find unique items

  • 32% of fashion executives said resale will be among the top three trends in the fashion industry in 2024

  • Poshmark’s gross merchandise value was $1.8 billion in 2022

  • Depop had over 35 million registered users in 2021

Section 01

Sustainability & Environmental Impact

  1. eBay’s global Circular Fashion Fund committed $1.2 million to support fashion startups [1]

  2. The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% compared with 15 years ago [2]

  3. Only 22% of post-consumer textile waste was collected separately for reuse or recycling in the EU in 2020 [3]

  4. 73% of clothing is ultimately landfilled or incinerated after use [4]

  5. Washing synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the oceans [5]

  6. The average American throws away about 81.5 pounds of clothes each year [6]

  7. In 2018, the U.S. textile recycling rate was 14.7% [7]

  8. Vinted estimated that buying second-hand instead of new for those purchases saved 679 kilotonnes of CO2e in 2023 [8]

  9. Every second-hand item bought instead of new saves 3.5 kg of CO2e on average [9]

  10. 35% of primary microplastics released into the oceans come from washing synthetic clothes, 2019 [10]

  11. 17% of primary microplastics released into the oceans come from tyres and road markings, 2019 [10]

  12. 16% of primary microplastics released into the oceans come from plastic pellets, 2019 [10]

  13. 15% of primary microplastics released into the oceans come from other sources (e.g., industrial activities and coatings), 2019 [10]

  14. 26% of primary microplastics released into the oceans come from source not specified in the cited breakdown (remaining share), 2019 [10]

Section 02

Pricing, Luxury & Product Segments

  1. 45% of younger consumers said they would spend more on an apparel item if they knew they could resell it in the future [11]

  2. Vestiaire Collective said one in three items sold on its platform in 2023 was from a brand partner closet or professional seller channel [12]

  3. 65% of global consumers under 35 were already buying on resale platforms according to a cited luxury/resale survey [13]

  4. The RealReal’s net revenues were $549 million in 2023 [14]

  5. The global market for collectible apparel reached $5.3 billion in 2023 according to one niche estimate tied to vintage-style collecting [15]

  6. The sneaker resale market was projected to grow to $30 billion by 2030 [16]

  7. 60% of StockX trades in 2021 were for products that retailed below $300 [17]

Section 03

Market Size & Growth

  1. The global secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $289 billion by 2027 [18]

  2. The U.S. secondhand apparel market was expected to double by 2026 [19]

  3. The global secondhand apparel market was expected to double in value to $77 billion by 2025 [20]

  4. The second-hand apparel market worldwide was forecast to exceed $350 billion by 2028 [21]

  5. The global market for second-hand products was expected to exceed $64 billion by 2024 [22]

  6. The UK used clothing market is forecast to reach around £7 billion in 2024 [23]

  7. The vintage clothes and accessories market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 13.6% from 2025 to 2029 [24]

Section 04

Consumer Behavior & Demographics

  1. 19% of Baby Boomers bought secondhand apparel in 2022 [25]

  2. 47% of U.S. consumers bought secondhand apparel in 2022 [26]

  3. 29% of U.S. consumers said they buy secondhand apparel because they can find unique items [27]

  4. 52% of U.S. consumers sold secondhand apparel in 2022 [28]

  5. 43% of consumers globally said they already bought second-hand clothes instead of new in 2021 [29]

Section 05

Business Models & Retail Trends

  1. 32% of fashion executives said resale will be among the top three trends in the fashion industry in 2024 [30]

  2. Poshmark’s gross merchandise value was $1.8 billion in 2022 [31]

  3. Depop had over 35 million registered users in 2021 [32]

Section 06

Industry Overview

  1. In 2018, 66.2 pounds of textile waste per person were generated in the U.S. [33]

  2. The share of textiles combusted in the U.S. was 14.7% in 2018 [34]

  3. 2022: EUR 1.9 billion — EU second-hand clothing market size (online and offline combined) [35]

References

Footnotes

  1. 1
    ebayinc.com
    ebayinc.com
  2. 2
    wrap.org.uk
    wrap.org.uk
  3. 3
    environment.ec.europa.eu
    environment.ec.europa.eu
  4. 4
    ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
    ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
  5. 5
    unep.org
    unep.org
  6. 6
    earthday.org
    earthday.org
  7. 7
    epa.gov
    epa.gov
  8. 8
    vinted.com
    vinted.com
  9. 9
    greenstory.io
    greenstory.io
  10. 10
    eea.europa.eu
    eea.europa.eu
  11. 11
    thredup.com
    thredup.com×4
  12. 12
    vestiairecollective.com
    vestiairecollective.com
  13. 13
    bain.com
    bain.com
  14. 14
    investor.therealreal.com
    investor.therealreal.com
  15. 15
    statista.com
    statista.com×10
  16. 16
    cowen.com
    cowen.com
  17. 17
    stockx.com
    stockx.com
  18. 24
    thebusinessresearchcompany.com
    thebusinessresearchcompany.com
  19. 29
    ipsos.com
    ipsos.com
  20. 30
    businessoffashion.com
    businessoffashion.com
  21. 31
    investors.poshmark.com
    investors.poshmark.com
  22. 32
    etsy.com
    etsy.com
  23. 35
    europarl.europa.eu
    europarl.europa.eu

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APA

Alexander Eser. (April 19, 2026). Vintage Clothing Statistics. Rawshot.ai. https://rawshot.ai/statistic/vintage-clothing-1

MLA

Alexander Eser. "Vintage Clothing Statistics." Rawshot.ai, 19 Apr 2026, https://rawshot.ai/statistic/vintage-clothing-1.

Chicago

Alexander Eser. 2026. "Vintage Clothing Statistics." Rawshot.ai. https://rawshot.ai/statistic/vintage-clothing-1.

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