Vintage Clothing Statistics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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