If political deregulation of sustainability goals becomes the new norm, voluntary initiatives by industry and trade will become even more important. With these introductory words, representatives from Bergzeit, Globetrotter, Sport Conrad and Patagonia met at the Bergzeit headquarters in Otterfing near Munich at the end of November to discuss the current status of their second-hand business.
Like the entire fashion market, the outdoor industry is also facing a dilemma: for the majority of products, there is still no end-of-life path available that would guarantee the continued use of raw materials in the spirit of a circular economy.
“For 85 percent of the textiles, we don’t yet have an answer as to what should happen to them at the end of life,” explains Michael Austermühle, Regional Manager Central Europe at Patagonia. “We are actively looking for better materials, but jackets with membranes are still hazardous waste.” And as long as these paths do not yet exist, it makes sense to extend the lifespan of clothing. For example, by setting up a second-hand offer.
Globetrotter, for example, had MyClimate calculate that CO₂ can be saved with a second-hand offer. The CO₂ footprint of a rain jacket drops from around nine kilograms when purchased new to around two kilograms when sold second, even if the data is not yet fully reliable due to complex supply chains. Still, everyone agrees it’s the right thing to do, given the large amount of unused clothing and gear in our closets and basements.
The second-hand market is growing – also in the outdoor segment
Nobody knows exactly how big the second-hand outdoor market actually is. There are only figures about the textile second-hand market as a whole. Since the outdoor market as a niche makes up around one to two percent of the entire clothing market, the second-hand market should also be in this area. Michael Austermühle from Patagonia therefore estimates it at around 190 billion euros.
What is certain, however, is that the second-hand market in the outdoor segment is growing. All participants confirm this. Globetrotter initially started its second-hand business in 2020 as a stationary and test run, but it immediately met with a great response. Due to strong demand, the offering was quickly expanded to all 21 locations and has been growing continuously ever since. The online expansion followed in 2022.
“The area is growing steadily and strongly,” says Mareike Heubel, Senior Product Lifecycle Manager at Globetrotter. “Since we started offering second-hand products online, we have seen extremely strong demand.” The online second-hand market now accounts for around a quarter of total resale sales.
Sport Conrad started a stationary second-hand offer in 2022, but initially only as an event. Due to the great interest, second-hand goods have been available at all three locations all year round since 2024. During Black Week in November, the trading company also opened a second-hand pop-up store. “We wanted to give the topic more visibility,” explains Maria Ries, Head of CSR at Sport Conrad.
Bergzeit also took the step into resale in 2021 with its re-use program in cooperation with the re-sale service provider Reverse.Supply and has since expanded the program. The range now includes 15,000 items, and the amount of used products has tripled in the last year. “We found out that second-hand works. We can buy and sell goods, the first step has been solved. Now come the next goals,” explains Jule Schneider, CSR Manager at Bergzeit.
Pioneering work: hurdles in the development of the business model
Patagonia is considered a pioneer in the second-hand sector: the company started pop-up stores and online offers in the USA in 2012. In Europe, the “Worn Wear” program was launched in 2016, but here the focus is on repairs rather than second-hand. So far, Patagonia only sells second-hand goods in the Berlin store and organizes pop-up events about once or twice a year in different locations. The rush is huge every time, but “there isn’t enough goods for more,” says Austermuehle.
The problem: “We have been dealing with trade-in for years, but we lack IT and process management – and we don’t want to completely hand over these sensitive processes.” Without trade-in, i.e. purchasing used clothing, the offer mainly consists of returns and repaired individual items, and their availability is limited. However, Patagonia is sticking to its resale goal: In the next few years, Patagonia also wants to build a second-hand business in Europe.
Bergzeit also knows that re-sales are demanding. The online giant deliberately outsourced the area because it would have become too complicated within the existing online shop. “The previous system was designed so that you create an item and sell it 1,000 times. With second-hand things are different: each item has to be created individually. This was not possible with the logistics in-house,” explains Jens Oellrich, Re-Use team leader at Bergzeit.
Globetrotter also had to find new ways. Although the Hamburg-based company initially also worked with Reverse.Supply, they now map all processes in-house. “There is still no ready-made system for re-sales. Buying and evaluating things cannot yet be automated. Fake products are also a challenge. We are learning something new every day,” explains Mareike Heubel from Globetrotter. “This is pioneering work.”
Structures also had to be rebuilt in the stationary business in order to organize purchasing and sales, for example through training. The sales staff takes on these tasks there. Although Globetrotter can benefit from the experience of its staff when assessing products, it is not always easy to integrate these processes. “We can’t have one person in the store just rating products. It’s easier online,” Heubel continued. Depending on how busy the store is, the review doesn’t always happen within an hour, which is the goal.
Maybe AI can help with purchasing and evaluation? Not at the moment, says Jens Oellrich from Bergzeit: “We’ve tested it, it doesn’t work yet. The AI doesn’t see anything on black pants. No company has come to us yet and said we have a working solution.”
Target groups: Buyers and sellers are not identical
The target group for second-hand products is becoming increasingly broader. While at Patagonia it is primarily young people and vintage lovers who are interested in second-hand products, more and more families and price-conscious consumers are also taking advantage of the offerings at other retailers. Given the price development in recent years, this is not surprising.
“There are not that many people who can completely re-equip at Globetrotter,” points out Heubel. At the same time, more and more people are taking resale into account when buying new products, for example with high-priced products or children’s clothing, which often only fits a short time. In this respect, the second-hand business also supports new sales and promotes quality awareness among consumers.
What is striking is that sellers and buyers only have a very small overlap. Anyone who sells used clothing does not necessarily buy it – and vice versa. Secondhand is therefore less of a closed exchange system and more of an independent market. This is another reason why second-hand and new goods sales do not cannibalize each other.
Mountain boots, climbing shoes and of course jackets sell well at Bergzeit. Globetrotter, on the other hand, does not offer shoes on resale because the return rates are too high. In general, the business is not yet worthwhile for low-priced products such as accessories and T-shirts. From the consumer’s point of view, however, one cannot do without it, according to the actors.
However, there is still a lot to be done to make the topic more present in the minds of customers. On the one hand, to ensure the continuous return of re-sale products and, on the other hand, to boost sales. In stationary stores, i.e. at Globetrotter and Sport Conrad, the sales staff is encouraged to actively sell the second-hand range. In online retail, for example, Bergzeit draws permanent attention to resales through flyers that are included with every package.
Second hand as an economic model or “just” out of idealism?
Strategically, Secondhand is developing from a sustainability project into a relevant business pillar. The following applies to everyone: second hand has to pay off – which is not the case at the moment. The business is still too young for that and the processes are still in the development stage. Bergzeit expects a single to double-digit share of sales in the next five years, Globetrotter and Sport Conrad are planning to expand to include repair and refurbishment offerings. Rental models are also being discussed, not least because they generate additional second-hand supplies in the future and help to systematize the return flow.
At Patagonia, too, with the introduction of re-sales, cost recovery is the goal – unlike before. To date, all services related to worn wear, primarily the repair of products, have been offered free of charge to end consumers. “We have always said that this is not an economic factor. Repairs are free, even the shipment. It’s all about reducing the footprint,” explains Michael Austermuehle from Patagonia. But that will change once Patagonia also trades in. “Then the goal is to at least cover costs, it doesn’t have to make a profit.”
However, that does not mean that charitable activities cannot be linked to the re-sale. Almost all participants support local NGOs with their second-hand initiatives. Bergzeit, for example, will donate a total of 10,000 euros in 2025 for 10,000 re-use items sent in in the fall. Patagonia also donated the proceeds of around 30,000 euros that were generated at the Munich Worn Wear event alone to three local environmental protection groups. In the same way, Sport Conrad has donated one percent of the sales price to regional projects since 2022.