Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.
Carhartt prides itself on selling workwear that’s created to last, but now it’s giving those products an even longer shelf life.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based company has partnered with re-commerce platform Trove to launch a resale program, Carhartt Reworked, that aims to reduce clothing waste.
How it (re)works: Reworked, which debuted March 1, accepts trade-ins of select Carhartt products that meet a certain criteria. Clothes must be less than 10 years old; must have an original MSRP cost of $50 or more; and fit into product categories such as outerwear, shirt jacs, bibs and overalls, hoodies, sweatshirts, and pants.
- Customers exchange their gear for a digital gift card that can be used at the program’s dedicated website or any Carhartt store.
- Products that are not eligible for trade-in based on their condition are recycled or donated.
- The program is now piloted in six stores across the United States ahead of an expansion across all Carhartt retail locations slated for later this year.
Carhartt views Reworked as a natural “extension” of its model of providing long-lasting gear, with a sustainability edge tied in, Gretchen R. Valade, director of sustainability at Carhartt, said in a statement. “With the help of Trove’s expertise in circular business and re-commerce, we’re able to keep Carhartt products in use longer, out of landfills, and in the hands of people who need it,” she said.
Trove’s operating system helps Carhartt process trade-ins, and it distinguishes itself from marketplaces and peer-to-peer sites, claiming to provide “an opportunity to own the experience and engage with new and existing customers,” the company said in a statement.
- Trove is the helping hand behind Canada Goose’s resale program, Canada Goose Generations, which debuted earlier this year.
- “Carhartt is known for its high-quality fabric and stringent durability standards, meant to stand the test of time, which is why it feels natural to create a system to extend the life of such hardworking gear,” Trove CEO Gayle Tait said in a statement.
Zoom out: At the start of the year, Retail Brew laid out predictions for how the secondhand market will evolve in 2023, which included more retailers (and legacy brands specifically) jumping in. Also, as is the case with Carhartt, resale marketplaces will expand to IRL stores.
- “People live on and offline; you have to be on and offline,” Matthew A. Kaness, CEO and board advisor of GoodwillFinds.com, previously told Retail Brew. “You can acquire customers and capture demand in both the physical world and the digital world.”