Through its aptly named ‘Resell’ platform, COS, the H&M-owned brand, allows customers to buy and sell COS clothing, offering them the opportunity to “re-invent their wardrobe in a considered and sustainable way”.The platform first launched in 2020 in the UK and Germany and plans to expand globally.

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).

COS' Resell addresses these problems through providing an easy way to redirect unwanted clothing and thus divert it from landfills. It also provides a second-hand marketplace thus encouraging buying second hand and diverting ‘new new’ purchases, thus hopefully slowing down resource depletion. 

The seller sets the price — and provides the product information and manages postage — and COS will take a 10 per cent commission covering the operational costs of resell.

By shopping preloved pieces customers will help COS designs go full circle – from one COS lover to another, and reduce the consumption of new goods.

At time of writing in August 2021, if you are based in the United Kingdom or Germany, you can upload COS pieces to sell. For every item sold, COS charges a 10% commission to cover the operational costs of resell. The customer is however in complete control of the selling process, price setting, providing the information and managing the postage.