It’s All About Thrifting

A journalist’s social media post features a photograph of her Gen Z daughter’s feet clad in black biker boots, the leather creased and heels scuffed. The accompanying caption: “So it turns out there was a reason that I kept and tended to my original Frye harness boots all these years even though I haven’t worn them in forever. My daughter feels like she just struck gold. #momsvintagecloset.”

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It’s a sentiment familiar to Andy Ruben, founder and executive chairman of Trove, a recommerce company enabling apparel brands to buy back and resell their own products. “Anyone who knows a 19-year-old, a 24-year-old—you ask where they want to go shopping, it's always thrifting,” he says.

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Secondhand is big business, with 55% of U.S. consumers having purchased vintage or used items in the past year. Gen Z, the cohort born between 1997 and 2012, leads the trend—and not just for budget reasons. One-of-a-kind items found in thrift stores allow shoppers to curate distinctive styles that stand out in a world of mass-produced fashion. “This is 8% of fashion right now, ”says Ruben. “It’s not a niche thing anymore.”

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Trove’s technology serves a second, larger goal as well: reducing new production by increasing the lifespan of existing items, an angle that appeals to consumers’ increasing desire to shop sustainably. (Indeed, the British Fashion Council notes there’s enough clothing on the planet to dress the next six generations.) According to Ruben—a former Walmart chief sustainability officer, the company’s first, who appeared before U.S. House and Senate committees to speak about sustainability in business—the apparel industry accounts for a staggering 8% to 10% of global emissions, more than the impact of air travel and tanker ships combined.

Anyone who knows a 19-year-old, a 24-year-old—you ask where they want to go shopping, it’s always thrifting.

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Integrating resale behaviors into a brand’s existing offerings provides an avenue to grow without growing emissions. In fact, Trove technology supports 49 brands and 80% of global resale traffic, and its website notes that its partners—which include Canada Goose, Lululemon, Patagonia, REI, Levi’s, Arc’teryx, Carhartt and Allbirds—have seen over 2 million kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent and over 200,000 kilograms of waste diverted from landfills in the last year alone.

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What began less than 20 years ago with modern resale sites, like Depop and Poshmark, has progressed to brand and retailer consolidation of secondhand offerings, a model that increasingly involves a seamless integration of new and used items. “Here’s what I imagine it’ll be like shopping at REI one day,” says Ruben. “You’ll see a wall of backpacks, and a third of them will have a tag reading, ‘If you buy this and bring it back in six months in excellent condition, we'll give you 80% of the value.’”

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Trove's technology has evolved to integrate directly into brands' own facilities or their third-party logistics providers, rather than requiring a separate infrastructure. This enables brands to seamlessly incorporate resale operations into their current supply chains and business models. It’s an approach, Ruben says, that allows large brands to offer resale options to their customers while maintaining control over their branding and operations.

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By leveraging detailed product data, Trove prices each item based on specific attributes and market demand. Technology enables efficient identification and merchandising while artificial intelligence algorithms determine optimal resale locations, whether in store or online, to maximize value. The technology accommodates "snowflake inventory" as well—unique items, such as 40,000 pairs of black leggings from Lululemon or a half dozen size 14 Carhartt work boots.

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One of the most intriguing aspects of Trove’s approach is how it can highlight an item’s past-life story (for example, this leather satchel carried art supplies throughout Paris in 1997; these shell pants toured the Scottish Highlands during the pandemic), narratives that Ruben says resonate with consumers in search of more meaningful shopping experiences. This is why he sees a big opportunity for luxury brands, many already well-versed in storytelling, to cultivate new and younger customers by embracing online resale.

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“You cannot invent these stories,” he says. “They're authentic, and they're made for TikTok.”

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