The rapid purchase-to-discard ratio of fast fashion and piling up of clothing in landfills, often made from synthetic materials which do not decompose easily. When consumers throw away clothing in the garbage, not only does it waste money and resources, but it can take 200+ years for the materials to decompose in a landfill. During the decomposition process, textiles generate greenhouse methane gas and leach toxic chemicals and dyes into the groundwater and our soil. There is also the unmet potential of clothing which could be resold, and its lifetime extended- as opposed to manufacturing new clothing which requires more energy and water use, and is associated with more carbon emissions. Finally, there are lack of incentives for people to responsibly pass on/resell their unwanted clothing due to the associated costs- be that time or monetary (e.g. shipping).

Rebelle was founded in 2013 in Hamburg but sells globally. The company uses an innovative concept to connect online with offline: Founder Cécile Wickmann organises shopping events with retail stores and brands where customers can buy new items and sell their vintage treasures. This creates wardrobe space and demonstrates a sustainable approach.

There are two options for selling on REBELLE. First is the do-it-yourself service, where customers can take pictures and describe the articles themselves and use the platform to sell them. These articles are sent to REBELLE after the sale, they check condition and authenticity and send the product to the buyer. The other option is their so called concierge service. Here, a customer sends REBELLE the product and they take over the entire sales process: checking the condition, the product description, taking pictures, pricing, storage and shipping. If the product is sold, they receive a commission but they are never the owner of the goods.