Vestiaire Collective becomes first resale fashion platform to earn B Corp status

French fashion resale firm Vestiaire Collective has become the first resale fashion platform to be certified as a B Corporation, and it’s challenging other resale platforms, fashion labels, and industry participants to follow suit.

According to the company, this achievement is part of Vestiaire’s sustainability and inclusion roadmap and follows a rigorous B-Lab certification process that evaluates social and environmental performance, transparency, accountability, and demonstrating that profits and growth are used for a greater good.

Vestiaire Collective has been designated as a ‘Benefit Corporation,’ which indicates the company’s commitment to the highest social and environmental standards, according to B Corp.

The assessment also included significant achievements in the areas of ‘Workers’ and ‘Governance.’ In 2020, the firm named a chief sustainability and inclusion officer and established five employee diversity and inclusion task forces, including Ethnic diversity, LGBTQIA+, Women empowerment, Disability, and Equal Opportunity. The company employs around 500 people in France, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Sixty percent of the workforce is female, with all staff being from 48 nationalities.

Fanny Moizant, Vestiaire Collective co-founder and president, said that they’re incredibly proud to become the world’s first globally functioning and big B Corp Certified resale platform. It’s a significant step forward in their efforts to change the fashion business. Vestiaire Collective was founded on the belief that working together, they can create a more sustainable future. Today’s acknowledgment adds to the evidence that they can do it.

Moizant added that they’re thrilled to be a part of such a growing and pioneering community, and they believe this is only the beginning of a larger movement that will inspire even more commitment from the industry and community of fashion activists.

The Vestiaire Collective’s sustainability and inclusiveness roadmap focus on four areas: becoming exceptional as a firm, improving the footprint of its operations, empowering its community of users, and triggering a systemic change in the industry.

Some of the key targets include achieving a net climate benefit by the end of 2025 by reducing its carbon footprint by 25% and avoiding more emissions than it produces, as well as offer tools and incentives for its community of users to purchase sustainably and be a fair and diverse employer.

Vestiaire also intends to collaborate with companies, institutions, NGOs, and governments to accelerate the transition to a circular economy of commons from a linear system based on individual property, as well as push for more women in tech.

Vestiaire Collective’s chief sustainability and inclusion officer, Dounia Wone, said that being awarded this certification is a tremendous reward after having founded their Sustainability and Inclusion Team a year and a half ago. It is the product of extraordinary collective mobilization, and they want to thank and congratulate their employees, community, partners, and investors for their contributions. It is hoped that this distinguished certification would motivate other ecosystem members. As part of their commitment to creating a more sustainable fashion sector, they are willing to share certification process tips.

Augustin Boulot, executive director at B Lab France, said that they’re happy to have Vestiaire Collective join their network of over 4,000 B Corps throughout the world. They are happy to see players like Vestiaire Collective pave the path for a better way to do business as the resale market continues to develop dramatically, inspiring both firms and individuals to put people and the earth first.