Gap Partners with ThredUP for Secondhand Clothes Exchange

To attract shoppers to stores, an American retailer enters the used clothing market.

The company announced the beginning of cooperation with ThredUp platform, which is considered the largest in the world in the resale of fashionable clothes. Many retailers already cooperate with ThredUp, which allows them to give a second life to clothing and prevent the throwing away of goods in amounts estimated at tens of billions of dollars annually.  

Customers at Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, and Janie and Jack stores in the U.S. will now be able to bring used clothing and leave it in individual containers in exchange for discount cards that can then be used at retail outlets owned by Gap. 

The growth in purchases of second-hand clothing is a trend that analysts have noted in the new generation of buyers. Such investments not only save money but also fit into the concept of environmental responsibility. 

Gap has become one of the last major clothing retailers, which will take up second hand. Before that, Nordstrom, Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and other companies that are experiencing an outflow of customers from physical stores have made similar attempts. Whether they will be successful and whether such a step will help to increase profits and bring customers back will show time. 

But even if the possibilities of monetizing secondhand sales are not yet clear enough and large retailers are just beginning to explore this area, for today’s consumers, it is essential how socially responsible a company and this step itself will contribute to improving the reputation of the brand.