Patagonia Integrates Resale Shopping on Main Website

Outdoor apparel company Patagonia has unified the sale of new and used clothing onto a single website. The company's Worn Wear platform, established nine years ago, is now integrated into the main Patagonia site. This change allows customers to add both new and used Patagonia products to the same shopping cart, aiming to simplify and normalize the purchase of pre-owned garments.

Previously, Patagonia's Worn Wear platform operated as a separate online destination. Through this service, customers could return used clothing in exchange for store credit. The returned items were then cleaned, repaired, and resold at a reduced price. The launch of Worn Wear nine years ago positioned Patagonia as an early adopter in the brand-owned secondhand clothing market.

"We aim to bring resale to the center of our brand and the forefront of our customer experience," stated Sam Brown, Patagonia's head of resale. He acknowledged that many customers were previously unaware of Worn Wear's existence. The integration seeks to further establish secondhand shopping as a common practice within the fashion industry, where separate resale channels have typically been the norm.

The development of this integrated platform took four years. The company describes combining new and used sales as a significant technical challenge, particularly concerning inventory management and product presentation. Patagonia believes that easier access to used products will reduce the environmental impact associated with manufacturing new apparel. The company reported selling nearly 160,000 used items this year.