Swedish childrenswear brand Polarn O. Pyret (PO.P) has been shortlisted in the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards 2023. Having successfully rolled out its Second Hand initiative across its entire clothing collection, the brand has been shortlisted in the Best Circularity Initiative category.
The Best Circularity initiative recognises brands that have made significant progress towards adopting a more circular business model in the past 12 months. Judges will be looking for evidence the company has avoided a linear production model; instead adopting a more circular approach to minimise waste and use existing resources.
PO.P Second Hand was made available across its entire clothing collection in January.
PO.P is the only known major fashion brand to embed this service into its core business model by offering second hand ‘in-house’ as a brand service. Building PO.P Second Hand as a brand service offering means PO.P has created a go-to destination for buyers and sellers of PO.P pre-loved at a time when the norm is for brands to externalise their second hand offer to third-party resellers.
With a long-standing vision that every piece of PO.P clothing is owned by at least three children, PO.P Second Hand is a clear commitment to not only guaranteeing this but also extending the life of its garments even further.
P.OP’s second hand service was trialled with outerwear last year with 95% of items selling out within five days, giving the brand confidence to extend the initiative across its entire range. The service requires no photos and provides free shipping for sellers and free returns for buyers. Ozone cleaning and repairs are all taken care of, too. Furthermore, there is a transparent voucher system for traded-in items redeemable against all kids’ clothes, both new and used.
Commenting on being shortlisted is PO.P UK MD, Mats Nilsson.
“We are delighted PO.P Second Hand has been shortlisted in the Best Circularity Initiative category. For almost 50 years, PO.P has led with a sustainability mindset baked into how we do business. We really care about the clothes we produce, and second hand was the obvious next step for us.
“But it’s also important that we take full ownership of the experience for customers. We’re putting our money where our mouth is and investing in building a profitable resale model that helps us manage our impact as we grow the PO.P brand here in the UK. Being shortlisted for this award will help grow awareness of PO.P Second Hand. We hope our in-house model will inspire other brands to follow suit.”
The results of the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards 2023 are due to take place on 25 May 2023.
