In a world dominated by quick vogue giants, the place $10 sneakers and viral “hauls” fill social feeds, the resale motion is gaining traction on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers from each events are coming collectively to advertise a extra sustainable, round method to purchasing—one that would reshape the American retail panorama and assist the planet within the course of.
Representatives Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D., Calif.) and Nicole Malliotakis (R., N.Y.) are formally launching the bipartisan Recommerce Caucus. Their mission: to advertise the rising recommerce economic system.
Becoming a member of Kamlager-Dove and Malliotakis are representatives Kevin Mullin (D., Calif.), Hillary Scholten (D., Mich.), and Brittany Pettersen (D., Colo.), forming a coalition that goals to:
- Lengthen the life cycle of merchandise
- Scale back landfill waste
- Encourage environmentally accountable commerce
- Assist small sellers and entrepreneurs on digital platforms
- Promote entry to widespread resale apps
Tax Reduction and Round Enterprise Incentives
Kamlager-Dove is especially centered on lowering gross sales tax for secondhand gadgets and providing tax credit to corporations that undertake round enterprise fashions. “Why not do one thing that’s good for vogue, good for the economic system and good for the atmosphere?” she asks—a sentiment that resonates with each eco-conscious customers and small enterprise house owners.
Malliotakis, in the meantime, highlights the necessity to minimize purple tape for small companies and resellers, deal with counterfeiting, and scale back waste. “It’s sustainable, it helps the atmosphere, there’s much less trash and also you make any individual else glad,” she explains.
Why Now?
This legislative push comes at a time when tariffs on imported items are disrupting provide chains and driving up prices for retailers and shoppers alike. Consequently, American shoppers are pondering extra critically about the place their items come from and the way a lot they’re keen to pay for brand new versus secondhand gadgets.
A current report discovered that 54% of retail executives see resale as a extra secure supply of clothes amid tariff turmoil. Rachel Kibbe, CEO of American Round Textiles, notes, “At a time when shoppers are price-sensitive and looking for extra inexpensive, sustainable choices, recommerce gives important entry—not solely to earnings, however to high quality items at decrease prices”.
Sustainability By means of Secondhand
U.S. landfills are crammed with discarded clothes, which, because it breaks down, releases greenhouse gases and poisonous “perpetually chemical substances.” The carbon footprint of manufacturing new clothes—from sourcing supplies to manufacturing and world transport—is even larger.
Specialists estimate that if each secondhand merchandise bought changed the necessity for a brand new one, it might scale back total manufacturing by practically 8% by 2027 and minimize annual carbon emissions by 15-16% by 2040. Every reused garment can add 2.2 years to its life and scale back water, carbon, and waste footprints by as a lot as 73% in comparison with producing new clothes.
“At the moment now we have sufficient clothes on the planet to dress the subsequent six generations of people with out making something extra,” says Rachel Mednick, a sustainable vogue educator. The problem is making it simpler for corporations to supply pure fibers and shift their provide chains—a course of that takes time and assets.
The Booming Enterprise of Secondhand
Secondhand purchasing isn’t simply environmentally sensible—it’s additionally turn out to be a cultural phenomenon, particularly amongst Gen Z and Millennials. Youthful shoppers are looking for out resale apps and thrift shops searching for distinctive, inexpensive, and sustainable finds. In response to a current survey, 71% of customers aged 25-34 purchased “pre-loved items” prior to now 12 months.
The resale sector is booming:
- Projected to achieve $1.04 trillion globally by 2035, up from $186 billion final 12 months
- Rising 12–15% yearly, outpacing conventional retail
- Luxurious resale can be surging, with 27% of on-line luxurious attire spending now occurring on resale platforms
Discovering Worth in Sustainability
For a lot of, recommerce is about extra than simply saving cash or the atmosphere—it’s about creativity, entrepreneurship, and constructing group. As Congress turns its consideration to the recommerce economic system, the hope is that new insurance policies will empower small companies, scale back environmental affect, and provides customers extra sustainable decisions—proving that vogue, the economic system, and the atmosphere don’t must be at odds.
Because the main B2B recommerce platform, B-Inventory stands behind Congress and the business leaders who’re advocating for this recommerce motion. We’d additionally prefer to acknowledge and thank the retailers, manufacturers, and small companies who’re leveraging our platform to promote and purchase returned, extra, and trade-in stock. Each transaction on B-Inventory helps prolong product lifecycles, scale back landfill waste, and advance sustainability targets which can be more and more valued by shoppers, companies, and policymakers alike.
Need to perceive the present B2B recommerce panorama? Obtain B-Inventory’s report, The State of the B2B Recommerce Market- 2025.
