Zalando
The way to sustainability? Don’t say ‘sustainability’.
The average adult in the EU owns 120+ clothes. Almost 20% of them are worn once – or never.
Perfectly good clothes forgotten at the back of cupboards. Only to end up in landfills, leeching microplastics into the earth, or in the oceans, choking some poor dolphin with designer buttons.
Lecturing people about it doesn’t work, however.
Giving them a better deal often does.
We began with a cheeky little campaign to nudge people to sell the treasures at the back of their closets.
Sell your darlings
Used. Pre-owned. Almost new.
Zalando only accepted pre-owned clothes that were flawless, or what they called ‘like-new condition’.
I liked the term ‘like-new’ better than used, or pre-owned, which sounds like a beat-up 2008 Toyota Camry.
Better yet, why not call them ‘almost new’ – still accurate, but much more enticing.
We also added a question for the sellers, asking them why they were selling clothes that were almost new.
The answers we got gave us stories behind the clothes. Stories that explained why they were special, high value and often untouched.
Stories that – alongside the brands and prices – made ‘almost new’ look a much better deal than brand new.
