Australian luxury reselling platform, Luxe.It.Fwd is encouraging Australians to get involved with the circular economy, after discovering insights about fashion items wasting away in Australian wardrobes.
The eTailer surveyed 1000 Australian women and found that the average Australian woman owns five handbags that they haven’t used in the last year.
Further, 51% of those handbags have only been worn once, and 46% have never been worn.
Luxe.It.Fwd founder and CEO Miranda Gillespie said participating in the circular economy is a great way for consumers to reduce their waste and also make some extra money.
"Overconsumption of new fashion is undoubtedly wreaking havoc on the planet.
"Luxe.It.Fwd is determined to change this by facilitating and advancing a circular fashion economy which eliminates unnecessary waste and promotes the re-use of quality pieces, rather than limited-use fast fashion.
"Not only do owners of luxury handbags have an opportunity to make money off the pieces they have tucked away in their wardrobes, but they are also lessening the impact on the planet," she said.
According to Luxe.It.Fwd, it takes approximately 57.5kg of CO2 to produce a single handbag.
Since 2016, the eTailer has helped rehome more than 10,000 unwanted handbags watches, and accessories, offsetting 575 tonnes of CO2.
However, the business is on a mission to rehome 100,000 pre-loved fashion items by 2030, helping offset 5750 tonnes of CO2.
"We can certainly achieve it with our customers' help through buying and selling pre-owned in the circular economy, rather than always buying new," Gillespie said.
"Australians are the second largest consumers of fashion globally, buying on average 27kg of fashion per year.
"But we also know that more and more consumers are actively seeking ways to lessen their impact, and the way see it, the future of fashion —and indeed the world— is in their hands, and possibly hiding at the back of their wardrobe," she said.
In addition to uncovering the scale of unused items in Australian women's wardrobes, the survey also found other interesting insights around purchasing behaviours.
For their next handbag purchase, 31% said they would prefer to buy pre-owned.
Of those buying pre-owned, the reasons behind their purchases are that, 'It’s better for the environment' (48%), 'I can save money' (93%) and 'It’s more convenient than buying from the boutique' (27%).
Additionally, 43% of respondents have bought or sold a bag from an online marketplace, with 51% buying from Facebook Marketplace, 17% from Gumtree, 51% from eBay, and 7% from Facebook Groups.