Zara unveils resale, repair and donation service

Zara is launching a new resale, repair and donation service in the UK, available from 3 November 2022.

The pre-owned service will allow shoppers to book repairs and donate unwanted Zara items online or in-store, as well as post now-unwanted purchases online for sale.

The company will run the sales platform via its website and app. For this, sellers will take pictures of their garments, which will be paired with detailed product information provided by Zara. Buyers’ details, such as an address, will then be passed on when a sale has been agreed.

Paula Ampuero, Head of Sustainability at Zara, told The Guardian: “At this stage, this platform is exclusively conceived as a tool to help customers extend the lifetime of their clothing and take a more circular approach.”

Zara is the latest retailer to join the rental, resale and repair market, which boosts more circular practices in the fashion industry.

Earlier this month, Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter and The Outnet announced the expansion of their resale offer to additional markets.

SHEIN's also launched its new integrated online peer-to-peer resale destination, allowing customers to buy and sell previously owned SHEIN products.

This year has also seen Joules launch a resale platform with Reskinned, PrettyLittleThing introduce a resale marketplace app and Marks & Spencer partner with children's resale marketplace Dotte.

Zara's latest move comes just a week after it opened its largest store in the UK in the new Battersea Power Station development (pictured above). The 4,500sqm store is its most technically advanced yet with services such as online order collection, fitting room reservation, specific check-outs for returns, automated online returns stations and self-checkouts.