ThredUP was established in 2009 by James Reinhart. Headquartered in Oakland, CA, the brand designs and sells dresses, tops, and other women’s apparel. Their products are manufactured in .
In our pursuit of knowing how sustainable ThredUP is, we researched their current practices and how much they are impacting the environment. Areas we explored include raw material use, brand communications, long-term use, energy efficiency, and waste generation.
Their entire product line is made of secondhand, which is known to have very low environmental and post-consumer waste impact. This broad use of an eco-friendly fabric demonstrates their dedication in reducing their environmental impact at the sourcing stage.
ThredUP values sustainability by actively communicating their green efforts and goals while informing their customers about the most pressing environmental issues. They have marketing campaigns that inspire the public to take steps in improving their global impact. Moreover, they enhance transparency by sharing details of the environmental life-cycle assessment results of their products.
To promote long-term use of their products, they establish initiatives that help consumers reuse their old clothes or repair any damaged articles. Likewise, they also encourage customers to reduce their personal waste footprint by organizing garment collecting programs where assistance is given in sending donated goods for reuse or recycling.
One of the most remarkable changes that they’re implementing is their use of energy-saving technologies and renewable energy within their operations. Despite this, they don’t provide their customers with eco-conscious care instructions that could’ve stretched their energy conservation vision as far as the consumer stage.
Each package that we transport quickly causes some adverse effects on our environment. When distributing their products, the brand provides their customers with the choice to go for the standard shipping optionÑa slower and less harmful way to move goods. However, it seems that they haven’t taken this initiative further by offering incentives to customers who opt out of express shipping methods such as overnight or same-day delivery.
ThredUP packages their products free of any plastic material. Instead, they are using mainly paperÑa material that is biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable. To further minimize any waste that comes from their products, they use the appropriate size box and fewest possible components to pack their orders in.
After researching how sustainable ThredUP is, we determined that, based on their computed score of 8.9 or a rating of Sustainability Champ, they are extremely sustainable. This is the highest rating possible and indicates that they are best-in-class with repect to their environmental efforts.
