J. Crew Ups Efforts Furthering Circular Economy
J. Crew, seeking to help save the environment and help shoppers save a few dollars, has launched a new initiative, “J. Crew Always.”
The initiative includes a “360-resale” program powered by ThredUp’s Resale-as-a-Service and a program selling J. Crew vintage men’s, women’s and kids’ fashions in select stores.
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Under its partnership with ThredUp, customers can buy and resell “gently-worn” J. Crew women’s and kids’ items online at jcrew.thredup.com and receive J. Crew shopping credit for items sold. The credits will depend on the amount of clothing that is sent in and the quality of the items. Customers generate a prepaid shipping label from jcrew.thredup.com, fill shippable boxes or bags with women’s and kids’ items from any brand in their closet (not just J. Crew or its sister Madewell brand) and ship it to ThredUp for free. Customers receive J. Crew shopping credit for items sold on ThredUp and online and in-store at J. Crew.
The idea is to keep product out of landfills and encourage circular wardrobes.
J. Crew’s vintage womenswear is being made available at the J. Crew store on Fifth Avenue by 17th Street in Manhattan. Styles include the 1990s cotton sweater vest, 1980s cropped jean jacket and the 1990s denim skirt. Menswear vintage looks can be shopped at the men’s concept store at 315 Bowery in Lower Manhattan, which opened in September.
According to J. Crew, putting an item of clothing back into the circular economy by handing it down, donating or reselling it, extends its life by an average of 2.2 years. “When people shop secondhand, the demand for new clothing production goes down, which reduces carbon, waste and water footprints by an average of 25 percent,” J. Crew added said in its statement.
ThredUp is a publicly owned online resale platform founded by James Reinhart in 2009. It enables consumers to buy and sell unused or slightly worn women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes and accessories. In 2018, ThredUp launched its Resale-as-a-Service, allowing brands such as J. Crew, to plug into its resale engine to deliver thrift experiences to customers.
The J. Crew items already listed on ThredUp are not part of the J. Crew Always initiative. They are J. Crew items from ThredUp users. The J. Crew Always items will live on J. Crew’s site.
