‘We’re helping to change the perception’

Chanel, Dior, Versace — and eBay? The e-commerce company joined world-renowned designer labels during fashion’s biggest week with an innovative and eco-friendly approach.

For nearly 30 years, eBay has connected sellers and buyers around the world, according to the company’s website. Now, it’s using its massive global platform to advocate for a sustainable future on the runway.

Last fall, eBay hosted two secondhand runways that included models wearing pre-loved designer items. According to Refinery29, the shows were streamed online, allowing consumers to shop for the products right away.

The e-commerce company is no stranger to pre-loved apparel. Billions of dollars’ worth of secondhand luxury products were sold on eBay in 2023, according to Kirsty Keoghan, eBay’s general manager of global fashion. “Putting pre-loved on the catwalk is just one way we’re helping to change the perception of what is aspirational in fashion,” Keoghan said.

While eBay’s eco-friendly catwalks are grabbing attention, other companies are also striving to promote sustainable and affordable fashion. Organizations across the globe are staging their own secondhand runways, per Oxfam, and creating campaigns to push the movement forward, per Fashion Revolution.

Designers are also being held to a higher standard. Copenhagen Fashion Week has implemented a Sustainability Action Plan, which requires designers to observe certain environmental restrictions.

The Natural Resources Defense Council reported that apparel and footwear production has a larger carbon footprint than the aviation industry. The United States alone generates about 16 million tons of textile waste a year, most of which ends up in landfills.

However, eBay is making moves to change that. The eBay Impact Report revealed that the company avoided 69,000 tons of waste in 2023. Additionally, the company’s renewable energy usage was 91%. That’s a 20% increase from 2019.

Customers seem to be on board with the push for sustainable purchases. Recently, eBay shared that the top two reasons consumers buy pre-loved goods are savings and sustainability.

“Through recommerce, we’re extending the life of products, diverting them from landfills, and empowering customers to make sustainable choices,” eBay Chief Sustainability Officer Renée Morin said.

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