"This platform encourages sustainability and encourages people to shop for pre-loved and recycled pieces. It's something that no one's expecting PLT to do, which we're really really excited about" - Molly Mae
Except it's not really encouraging sustainability, with a brand that makes super fast fashion not built to last, and it's not unexpected as a marketing tactic either.
Fast fashion brands trying to capitalise on sustainability with "recycling" schemes is a tactic as old as... sustainability becoming a hot topic. A few years ago H&M started putting reycling points in stores so shoppers could dump old unwanted clothes in exchange for vouchers to get new ones, Shein also recently launched a scheme similar to this and it's a marketing tactic. Designed to increase sales and encourage shoppers to buy more while making them feel less guilty for getting rid of old clothes and buying new ones. And, as I talked about in my recent post about hauls, a whole lot of donated clothing worldwide ends up in Landfills in the global south rather than being genuinely recycled.
A resale app is a slightly different thing than these other tactics, and is arguably better because users are selling to other users, who will hopefully wear these clothes, rather than putting stuff in a box to go who knows where. But it's still a greenwashing tactic designed so that Pretty Little Thing have some sort of "sustainability" marketing stance that means they don't have to actually change anything about their current business model, which is inherently unsustainable, and encourage people to buy more PLT in the process.
Here are a few reasons PLT is incredibly unsustainable and unethical as a brand (something a resale app isn't going to solve):
- They put 100-150 new items on their site every single day, with clothes not built to last
- They sold dresses for as little as 8p in their black Friday Sales
- 89% of their clothing contains virgin plastic, with 57% of their items made from entirely plastic [1]
- Large parts of their "sustainable"/"recycled" collection is made from 50% polyester
- There's no information on their site about where they source their raw materials, where their clothes are made, and who makes them
- They scored a measly 20% in the Fashion Transparency index in 2021 [2]
- In 2020 they were found to be paying garment workers in Leister as little as £3.50 an hour, with parent company Boohoo Group paying Pakistani workers 29p an hour [3]
- Shop and sell using existing marketplaces and apps designed for second hand like Vinted, Depop, eBay and even places like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree
- Attend in person clothes swaps and second hand clothes sales, and swap with pals
- Try selling at local flea markets and car book sales
- Learn to upcycle, and modify clothes that you no longer love for less waste.
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