Make money, save money, donate money — it’s the triple threat of conscientious commerce and the ethos of emerging clothes resale service LuxAnthropy.
Apparel resale companies have become one of fashion’s biggest trends in recent years, with Poshmark, Grailed and The RealReal all leading the way and offering apps for us to buy and sell used designer clothes online.
The market is currently valued at $28 billion and it’s expected to reach $64 billion in five years, according to a recent report by another online resale marketplace, ThredUp, in collaboration with research firm GlobalData Retail.
“The resale market overall is on a huge growth trajectory,” explains LuxAnthropy co-founder Jen Hillman.
“There used to be a stigma attached to resale, but that is now completely gone. It’s become more of a badge of honor.
“It’s the millennials and Gen Zers that are driving the growth. That’s for a lot of reasons, the resale price points are more attainable, and now more than ever shoppers are looking for great deals.
“Then of course there’s the environmental benefits, so buying one used item reduces its carbon footprint by 82%.
“And because resale is becoming more accepted, we can also tell that full price shoppers are now considering it for the first time.”
LuxAnthropy co-founder Jen Hillman
By putting charity giving at the center of their service, LuxAnthropy have offered an extra incentive in this booming marketplace that helps us look good and feel good too.
The site, launched by former Estée Lauder executive Jen in 2017, aligns with 22 carefully-chosen charities with at least 10% of each sale, although often more, being donated to a good cause.
And in doing so, LuxAnthropy, as their name suggests, believe they have “created a new crossroad for luxury resale and philanthropy.”
Poshmark and Grailed — two of the current market leaders for buying and selling used clothes — are both peer-to-peer services with the seller responsible for the marketing, negotiating and sending of their items.
Grailed built its reputation on the resale of hard-to-find menswear, while Poshmark has a broad appeal for those looking for all levels of pricing and brands.
LuxAnthropy is focusing on luxury fashion, and offer a white glove service where they collect, photograph, list, sell and post all the items. This encourages busy and high-profile clients to engage by making it as simple as possible to declutter their wardrobes and sell the contents — and also makes donating to charity easier than taking clothes to Goodwill.
Celebrities, influencers, stylists and fashion houses are all among their users, with many deciding to donate their entire proceeds to good causes.
When former Roseanne star Sara Gilbert left CBS show The Talk last year, LuxAnthropy sold her work wardrobe with the proceeds going to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. And actress Elizabeth Hurley curated a selection of items from her breast cancer awareness press tour that she sold on the site last year in aid of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. They are hoping to announce similar tie-ins with male celebrities soon.
And Jen said: “What was was great was that Liz talked about her collection and the charity on her social media platforms.
“And she got so many ‘likes’ and tons of accolades and everything sold really well. So that was exciting to see that kind of response and increased awareness for the charity.”
Liz Hurley wore this pink dress on her breast cancer awareness press tour then later sold it on LuxAnthropy for the cause // 📸: The Mega Agency
Sales on the site are split with 60% of the proceeds going to the seller and 40% to LuxAnthropy. Both parties give at least 5% of their portion to charity, but many choose to donate more — with more than half of sellers choosing to donate 100% of their proceeds.
And the platform is giving potential buyers, sellers and those wanting to give back to society more options in the current health crisis. While shopping in bricks and mortar stores has become more challenging in Covid-19, so has donating time to charity work.
“We’re seeing more people who haven’t shopped resale before are starting to,” Jen says.
“It’s a new avenue for people to shop and make money. People are going through their closets because they’re at home and they’ve got time on their hands.
“And we’re working with some of the sororities on campuses. During Covid they aren’t able to go visit the charities, so what they’re doing instead is cleaning out their closets and selling things on to support them.”
Gucci sneakers as listed on LuxAnthropy
Current menswear deals on the site include a $1650 YSL blazer for $245 and a pair of $695 Prada loafers for $125. Womenswear offerings include a pair of $675 Manolo Blahnik heels for $95 and a $290 Comme des Garcons shirt for $45.
All the items have been through LuxAnthropy’s quality tests and have a two-week return window too.
It’s an innovative combination of buying, selling and donating that gives new meaning to the expression ‘guilt-free splurge.’
