REthinking The Humanitarian Resale Ecosystem for Apparel Donations

Objective

The project RETHREAD (REthinking The Humanitarian Resale Ecosystem for Apparel Donations) examines how charities in the second-hand clothing sector are affected by ultra-fast fashion (UFF) and peer-to-peer (P2P) resale platforms. Second-hand sales have long delivered environmental benefits and vital funding for charities, but these activities are now threatened by the influx of low-quality garments, competition from P2P platforms, and new regulations banning the destruction of unsold inventory, which risk overwhelming charities with unsellable stock. RETHREAD pursues three objectives: (1) map the European post-consumer apparel ecosystem, identifying actors, flows, and leverage points for intervention; (2) assess how P2P resale and UFF affect charity revenues and consumer behavior, including rebound effects; and (3) evaluate the operational consequences of unsold inventory donation mandates on charities, product quality, and competitive dynamics. The project applies a multi-method approach, combining durable goods modeling with analysis of a unique dataset from the online resale platform of a major French charity. This is complemented by stakeholder interviews, consumer surveys, and European policy reports. Integrating operations management, behavioral economics, non-profit operations, and policy analysis, the research links empirical evidence with formal modeling and scenario analysis. Expected outputs include academic publications, decision-support tools for charities, and an innovative interactive policy brief. By advancing knowledge on secondary markets and non-profit operations, RETHREAD directly supports Horizon Europe’s goals on sustainability, circular economy, and social inclusion, strengthening the resilience of charities as key social actors and providing regulators with evidence for socially responsible circular economy policies.