ity and innovation.  Customers can join the circular program by dropping off their pre-loved Balenciaga items to participating Balenciaga stores or request collection through Reflaunt. Each item is registered, authenticated and professionally photographed to a high standard and listed on a prominent secondhand marketplace. Once an item is sold, it’s shipped from Balenciaga and the seller receives either financial compensation or credit for use in Balenciaga stores.  Reflaunt has developed connections with over 25 secondhand marketplaces making it an efficient way to get pre-loved luxury items in front of millions of potential buyers. As part of its resale-as-a-service offering, it also helps brands set up take-back programs and fully branded recommerce platforms.  Reflaunt handles the evaluation and distribution of each piece, and for items that aren’t in resalable condition, it upcycles or donates them through its partner ecosystem. This ensures unwanted items are diverted from landfill and are reused in a practical way ready for a new owner who values its next life.  The resale model has grown significantly in recent years. Business of Fashion research estimates that the US secondhand market will increase from $27 billion in 2020 to $57 billion by 2025. This market is going to consistently accelerate as customers look for convenient channels to sell their pre-loved items.  While some luxury brands are keeping their distance from resale and take-back programs, stating it would be detrimental to their brand and loyal customers. There is no doubt that integrating new business models such as resale provides an excellent experience to customers and ensures items are in use for longer.  Good for business These new retail models give fashion brands an effective channel to introduce sustainability initiatives. In the case of Balenciaga, these innovation channels offer valuable touchpoints to reconnect with customers and, in parallel, appeal to a new audience. Typically, people who follow the brand closely and are happy to purchase pre-loved pieces as a way to access the brand.  Several years ago, there were only a few large luxury brands who advocated for sustainable and ethical processes through various initiatives, as well as reported on it. Today, this practice has become commonplace, and now, the outliers are the brands that don’t declare their stance on sustainability issues.  Enacting change is proving to be very good for business, even though the fashion industry is in the top five most-polluting industries in the world. The rise of conscious consumerism is infiltrating all fashion markets. From haute couture to fast fashion, the modern shopper is considering the social and environmental impact of their purchases.  Resale-as-a-service Reflaunt is among a new wave of platforms creating an ecosystem to direct pre-loved fashion items back into circulation. It’s a significantly important process needed within the fashion industry to keep items in use and out of landfills.  Attitudes around buying secondhand fashion items have shifted greatly in the past few years, in large part thanks to online marketplaces such as Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal, which have become popular destinations for searching for pre-loved luxury items.  To some degree, they’re preferred, as they offer authentication services and users can purchase pieces from sellers all over the world, which is very appealing for those looking for specific items from previous seasons, archived collections or rare items.  With more brands ready to integrate sustainability initiatives, platforms that do the heavy lifting become a priority to activate. Particularly when they become part of the brand’s social impact marketing message and offer added value to customers.  Tracing the journey As resale continues to gain momentum,other solutions will grow alongside it, such as digital IDs. The technology to support this is easy to implement for businesses and their customers and will bring a new layer of transparency to the fashion industry by providing insight into the lifecycle of individual garments. Digital IDs are not simply useful for creating a timeline from the design and development of products through to providing end-of-life instructions, they can also serve an anti-counterfeit purpose by making it possible to quickly verify the authenticity of items. Some brands, such as Gabriela Hearst, Outerknown and Pangaia, are already using digital IDs within their supply chains. As for Balenciaga and resale, there has never been a better time for a brand to supercharge its positive impact. We’ve seen consumers demonstrate greater interest in being part of a brand’s community and aligning with its values, and when brands roll out initiatives that are both circular and advantageous to the customer, the whole fashion system benefits.