Asda will begin selling second-hand clothing in 50 of its stores throughout the United Kingdom.
The idea has been tested successfully at a store in Leeds, according to the retailer, and it now expects to stock used garments more widely.
The George at Asda brand has teamed up with specialist wholesaler Preloved Vintage Kilo for the project.
Customers will be able to buy antique, retro, and second-hand branded items, stopping thousands of tonnes of clothing from entering landfill each year.
Second-hand clothes will be sold under the PVW (Preloved Vintage Wholesale) brand name in stores around the country, including London, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Brighton.
With 632 outlets, Asda is the third largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom.
It was sold for £6.8 billion in February to the Issa brothers, two Blackburn based entrepreneurs, and the investment company TDR Capital.
Preloved Vintage managing director Steve Lynam said that the company had saved over 800 tonnes of clothing from going to landfill, and that partnering with Asda would “dramatically” increase that figure.
“In a world where we are becoming more environmentally conscious this partnership will help bring sustainable fashion to the mainstream which is something as a business we strive for in everything we do.
“The more people that buy into the circular economy and shop vintage & retro the bigger impact we will have on climate change.”
In recent years, a number of retailers have adopted the question of sustainable fashion.
Several retailers, including Asda, Primark, and M&S, accept used clothing through their recycling programmes, which enable consumers to return used garments in-store.
Selfridges partnered with the resale platform Vestiaire Collective to sell secondhand clothing in 2019.
The Depop social shopping app, which was established in 2011, and more recently Vinted and Asos Vintage, are examples of online sites that enable users to sell discarded clothing.
The reselling trend isn’t all about clothes. Ikea revealed earlier this year that it would go ahead with its plans to buy back and resell used furniture.
‘With a world with finite resources, circularity is becoming more and more important. It is one of the key elements to creating a more sustainable future and we salute Asda and others for helping people take another step in this direction.’
Richard Dickson, Co-Founder, Play It Green.
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