61.8 million Zara items are for sale on Vinted: is circular fashion struggling?

With 61.8 million Zara items listed for sale on Vinted, the popular online second-hand platform, a complex picture emerges of fast fashion consumer behaviour and the sustainability efforts within the retail sector. The platform also lists 59.7 million H&M items, 21.8 million Shein pieces, 21 million Primark products and 10.2 million Mango items.

The figures underline the vast scale of Zara and other fast fashion giants’ production capabilities and their dominance within the sector. The Spanish retailer, owned by Inditex, like its peers is known for its rapid turnaround of styles and ability to respond quickly to fashion trends. The sheer volume of items available on Vinted, just one of several resale platforms, suggests that consumers are indeed buying these garments in vast quantities and, crucially, that they have a short shelf life in terms of desirability to the shopper.

Short shelf life

The prevalence of these items on a resale platform also points to a growing trend towards circular fashion. Consumers appear to be increasingly aware of extending the lifecycle of their clothing, rather than discarding items after limited use. This shift aligns with wider sustainability goals and could be seen as a positive step towards reducing fashion’s environmental impact. However, circular fashion should be based on the premise that good quality clothing lasts longer than a season, not that fast fashion brands churn out hundreds of millions of garments a year, largely made from polyester, which end up gathering dust.

Fashion entrepreneur Stuart Trevor, founder of high street fashion brand All Saints and sustainable vintage label Stuart Trevor, tracked the number of Zara items listed on Vinted over a 77-day period between March and June. Sharing his findings on LinkedIn, Trevor’s data shows that they increased from 52.4 million at the end of March to 61 million by mid-June, an average increase of 100,000 items a day.

The situation raises questions about the effectiveness of such second-hand marketplaces in truly addressing sustainability concerns. While extending the life of garments is beneficial, the sheer volume of items suggests that overproduction and overconsumption remain significant issues. It could be argued that the ease of resale may inadvertently encourage further consumption, as shoppers may feel less guilty about buying new items if they intend to resell them later.

Resale can encourage consumption

As the fashion industry grapples with its environmental footprint, the role of second-hand marketplaces like Vinted is likely to continue to evolve. While they offer a partial solution to fashion waste, more comprehensive changes to production, consumption and disposal models are needed to achieve true sustainability in the sector. Trevor’s eponymous label, for example, reworks vintage pieces without creating any new clothing, instead carefully reimagining garments through processes such as patching, printing, spraying, cutting, washing and embroidery.

Ultimately, the vast volume of Zara and fast fashion items on Vinted reflects the complex interplay between consumer behaviour, corporate responsibility and environmental concerns in the modern fashion landscape. As pressure mounts for more sustainable practices, both retailers and consumers will need to reassess their approaches to garment production, consumption and disposal.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.uk. Translated and edited by Marjorie van Elven for FashionUnited.com.