Lululemon is put up for resale.
The sportswear and bra maker announced Tuesday that it will pilot an exchange program in California and Texas next month, which will then be expanded to a resale program in June.
Starting in May, Lululemon customers in California and Texas will be able to negotiate soft-use Lululemon items, in a store or by mail, in exchange for a Lululemon gift card.
The following month, those soft-used items will start selling to people who want to pay less and don’t mind a little wear and tear on top. The company tells the pilot “Like new.” Lululemon is partnering with Trove, a business that already helps brands like Levi’s and Patagonia build resale markets to achieve this.
Lululemon says all marketed items will be cleaned and items that do not meet their quality standards will be recycled. The retailer says it will rely on buyers ’feedback on the pilot before it escalates to other states and more stores.
“Lululemon is actively working to help create a healthier future,” Calvin McDonald, CEO, said in a statement.
The company is currently working to achieve a number of sustainability goals it set last fall, including manufacturing 100% of its products with sustainable materials and end-of-use solutions by 2030, he added.
Lululemon is certainly not the first retailer to experiment with resale. Companies feel more eager to do this when they see that places like Poshmark and Depop, which sell used products, are flooded with products.
Last year, Levi Strauss & Co. premiered a repurchase program for his jeans called SecondHand. Nike announced earlier this month a new initiative to accept sneakers that are worn gently and then cleaned and sold in some stores at a reduced price.
Retailers from Gap at Macy’s to Nordstrom have also dipped their feet into the second-hand market, partnering with markets like ThredUp, to encourage customers to ship used items, but also to allow them to spare themselves.
Thrifting is becoming increasingly popular with Generation Z, a generation that cares more about the environment and takes it into account when buying.
Second-hand and shipping store mentions ranked No. 10 on the list of favorite brands for teens this spring, according to Piper Sandler’s biannual report on generation spending. This happened from the 23rd year before, as more teenagers become familiar with second-hand markets.
According to a separate report from Jefferies, the second-hand market generates annual sales of about $ 30 billion annually in the United States and expects the market to grow to represent an average percentage of total U.S. clothing over the next decade, driven by online resale. Generation Z investors are already at that level, the firm said.
“We believe that most companies should find some way to participate in resale, either through partnerships or their own platform, given (1) the growing importance of sustainability for the consumer, [and] (2) its growing importance to investors, ”Jefferies analyst Janine Stichter said in a note to clients.
In parallel with the debut of its pilot resale program, Lululemon will also launch a collection of limited edition goods made with lower impact dyes, recycled from the waste of oranges, beets and saw palms. These dyes use less water, carbon and synthetic chemicals compared to conventional synthetic dyes, he said.
The unique tie process also produces a slightly different result each time, so each print from this new collection will be unique, he added. The line, called Earth Dye, will be available worldwide online and at certain Lululemon stores on May 11th.
So far, Lululemon shares have fallen about 7%, at the close of Monday’s market. The retailer has a market cap of $ 42 billion.