INTERVIEW #4 REROBE
“We missed a curated marketplace for second-hand where each piece was hand-picked, fashionable, and in great quality.”
Why did you start ReRobe?
We missed a curated marketplace for second-hand where each piece was hand-picked, fashionable, and in great quality. So we got to work and started building it. We simply wanted to make it easier to find nice second-hand clothing, and more longterm replace fast-fashion with a more sustainable option. Secondhand and fast fashion is really the same side of the same coin in some ways - both offer great prices, and a lot of novelty.
Another important thing for us was to not only provide luxury goods, but a mix of vintage, Scandinavian designers, and more affordable items as well as those really nice luxury brands.
How do you pick your products and what to sell?
“The trick is to mix that up with more unique gems to make the supply more interesting.”
As a first criteria all products should of course be clean and in good condition. We look a lot at season, trends and popular brands. For example Scandinavian brands like Rodebjer, Ganni, Filippa K and Acne are always popular. The trick is to mix that up with more unique gems to make the supply more interesting. In the early stages of the company we accepted all of our friends clothes and all of a sudden we found ourselves drowning in clothes, haha, now we have a much more selective process and are picky on what we accept.
What has been and is the major challenges?
Running a start-up comes with a lot of challenges, that’s for sure. We’re doing this the bootstrapping way, which means with no external funding, so we have been working very hard since day 1 to keep the company above surface in the early days. We had our inventory in Alex parents apartment during the first months, which was great because we could keep the company costs very low. Vendela and Josh moved out from their apartment in the city and back to Vendelas parents farm to be able to do this. But those are also the charming parts of it all that we will remember when ReRobe grows bigger. We also think it’s every company’s learning process to get to know your customer and understand the market you’re operating in. We can highly recommend to talk to your users and customers. The work is never “done” when you’re running your own business - but the journey is totally worth it!
What do you think needs to change now in the fashion industry to make it more sustainable?
“The great thing about secondhand is that you never have feel guilty about shopping”
We believe that consumers have a big part to play, by actively being mindful of what items they buy. The great thing about secondhand is that you never have feel guilty about shopping, you are doing the planet a favor by helping to extend the life time of an item, instead of buying something newly produced.
What do you believe is “greenwashing” and what can producers and consumers do to avoid it?
As a whole, fast fashion and its culture of introducing tons of new products at high speed, at very low prices, is toxic. It encourages over-consumption and drops price levels to the bottom, which ultimately impacts the customers to not care too much about their items. It’s not easy to encourage someone to take good care of a top that gets worn out after 3-4 uses. The easiest trick to stay sustainable is very simple: buy good quality second-hand!
What would you advice consumers to do who seeks to create a sustainable closet and lifestyle?
Try a shopping free 3, 6 or 12 months to see how your mind changes - it’s amazing how fast you stop thinking about what new items you want to buy. Also, try to challenge yourself by styling your old pieces in new ways. Maybe you can borrow a handbag from your mom to lift an old outfit or why not do a clothing swop with a friend for a month? Another trick is to have basics of good quality, and to buy and sell for example a crazy top, a cocktail dress you wore once, or your fun accessories second hand.
