Patagonia and eBay are joining forces for the second time to promote a new model for consumption within the apparel industry—one that emphasizes product durability, reuse and tapping the full useful life of clothing.
As in the U.S., the new Patagonia experience in the U.K. is the first multi-seller storefront on eBay.co.uk and the first branded shop that features pre-owned listings. By taking the Common Threads Partnership pledge, eBay shoppers will vow to buy pre-owned Patagonia gear when they can and sell Patagonia gear that they no longer need. The U.K. storefront showcases the full life story of products being sold and highlights listings from sellers who have taken the Common Threads Partnership pledge. Additionally, Patagonia will promote the new eBay.co.uk storefront in a new “Used Clothing & Gear” section on its U.K. website.
Born from a common interest by Patagonia and eBay in extending the life of products that already exist, the collaboration is a natural alliance—marrying Patagonia’s Ironclad Guarantee, which underscores their clothing’s durability by guaranteeing products for life, with eBay, the world’s largest marketplace for clothing and apparel, both pre-owned and new. Since the program first launched in the U.S. in September 2011, almost 60,000 consumers have taken the Common Threads Partnership pledge and re-sold more than 53,000 pre-owned Patagonia items through the storefront on eBay.
The partnership supports eBay’s larger work to connect retailers and brands with customers on the platform, driving both engagement and unrivaled selection. It provides a new framework for how people shop: their relationship with products, and the way they find, purchase, own, pass on, or eventually retire or recycle them.
An extension of eBay’s social innovation work in Europe, the Patagonia partnership sits alongside programs like eBay Instant Sale in Germany, and eBay for Charity in the U.K. – all of which harness the power and reach of eBay’s business to drive positive change in the world.