The environmental impact of fashion’s breakneck pace and countless collections is one of the industry’s most pressing issues. To tackle sustainability and encourage a circular economy, Gucci is partnering with luxury consignment company The RealReal for an exclusive online shop guaranteed to have the label’s devotees abuzz.
Just in time for National Consignment Day, the duo’s new e-commerce store is launching with a robust selection of pre-owned, authentic Gucci merchandise. From outerwear to bags to sunglasses, just about every category produced by the Florentine house is represented in the well-curated lineup.
“Gucci is raising the bar not only for the fashion industry, but for all companies by continuously innovating to make its business more sustainable,” said Julie Wainwright, founder and CEO of The RealReal, in a press release. “Together we’re shining a global spotlight on resale that we hope will encourage all consumers to support the circular economy and join us in reducing fashion’s carbon footprint.”
The Gucci x The RealReal e-commerce shop has a full lineup with everything from apparel to accessories to shoes. Courtesy of The RealReal
Gucci, along with parent company Kering, has made robust sustainability commitments for a brand of its scale. It has eliminated the use of heavy metals in the production of its tanned leather goods to reducing its number of annual runway shows. Of course, that doesn’t mean the number of products produced by label isn’t still substantial.
This venture is representative of Gucci’s effort to ensure that all of its wares see the longest possible use, even if the original owners decide to part ways with them. To date, all Gucci apparel sold on The RealReal has saved 230 metric tons of carbon and 10+ million liters of water compared to manufacturing those items new. Bolstering this ecological initiative, all Gucci purchases made through the site will help plant a tree through One Tree Planted to aid its climate change-fighting reforestation goals.
This news should come as a boon to The Real Real, as Gucci’s resale demand has spiked by 19 percent from just last year with resale value 2.3x stronger than that of the average brand sold on its platform. You can visit the special digital shop here.
