MIAMI, Fla. — According to a study done by the University of Central Florida, the average person uses about 81 pounds of clothing a year.
Only 2,570 tonnes of the 16,890 tonnes of textile waste produced in 2017 by the United States were recycled.
One Florida company is trying to make a change.
Rosanna Ceccato brings over 15-years of experience in fashion. Seven years ago, she moved to Miami and spotted a fashion trend.
“More than 80% of women think that they have nothing to wear even if their wardrobes are packed, and the question we had was why?” asked Ceccato.
Ceccato noticed women who own top dollar garments typically only wear them once or twice, yet they don’t want to give them up, and they don’t want to dump them. Instead, they want their money’s worth.
“Women are frustrated because we know if we try to resell these barely used garments in secondhand apparel platforms, we are going to receive pennies. Our garments can still be sold even if they have labels. So, we prefer to keep garments in the closet, but the thing is, at the end of the day, they are going to end up in landfills,” explained Ceccato.
Their idea came to life in 2019. Redress, a small store in Miami is located right at the center of Florida. And if you think it’s about selling or renting. You’re wrong. It’s a new business model that’s all about swapping.
“We discovered people have a lot of garments hanging in their closets but they didn’t have money to pay for their rent. Because of the pandemic, people became more smart.”
Ceccato continued, “Why don’t you swap your barely used garments to swap for another garment that is new to you?”
It’s a business model that longtime customer Jennifer Passariello could get behind.
“I had found her on Instagram and I thought, ‘Oh my god this is amazing. It’s what I do, because I usually give away my clothes to family members and swap them with cousins. Oh, you have a dress you’re not using? I need this, I need that.’ So, we always swap within family and friends and I thought this is perfect now I have a bigger closet to swap with!”
Redress works by having you upload an image of the product. Once it’s approved, you pay $14.99 to have a shipping label sent to you. After Rosanna receives the package you can choose from the approximately 2,000 different items.
Matias Hercovich says they want to expand their inventory up to 5,000 but have swapped 6,000 items since August 20, 2022.
“Here, you can get up to 90% of the value of your piece, not in money, but in the equivalent or even better piece. We are basically offering a way of life. You can dress in the clothes you want, with the brands you want, constantly,” shared Hercovich.
This concept will make you feel good and save money, but the biggest win comes from reducing our fashion footprint.
“The problem of our consumption, the problem of fast fashion, is global,” stated Ceccato.
She furthered, “In the resell platforms, these platforms gave a second life to barely used garments. Redress gives a garment eight chances to live. So we are really trying to change the way people consume fashion.”