The resale platform Dotte was launched during the peak of the pandemic, coinciding with the rapid emergence of resale models as an alternative to shopping. Unlike other platforms, however, founders and mothers Samantha Valentine and Louise Weiss chose to focus entirely on the resale of children’s clothing, a largely untapped market in the second-hand sector.
“The idea came out of genuine parental frustration,” Weiss, mother of two, told FashionUnited. The duo explained that the shock at the startling rate at which their children were growing out of their clothes led them to take the to set up a platform.
Dotte recently entered into a partnership with the British retail group Marks & Spencer. Marks & Spencer joined the platform’s resale collective, which consists of a group of sustainable brand partners who enable consumers to resell branded children’s clothing in exchange for in-store discounts.
As Dotte works towards an upcoming crowdfunding, Weiss spoke to FashionUnited about the importance of accessible circular solutions, the possibilities for reselling children’s clothing and the future of the platform in this booming market.
Where did the idea for Dotte come from? Why did you choose specifically for children’s clothing?
In the first two years of life, children grow by more than seven sizes, and the rate at which clothing becomes undersized is alarming. When parents have children for the first time, they worry a lot more about sustainability because their consumption expands to a whole different generation.
That was the case with us. When we had kids we were really concerned about the growth spurts and frustrated because we didn’t have a way to get rid of all the clothes. You can send them to some charity shops, but some won’t take them and you don’t know where they actually end up. So we decided to build a platform where we can sell them.
Who is the typical Dotte customer?
Our customers are typically fashion conscious, savvy and mostly mothers. We aim to be very gender neutral, but the fact of the matter is that women mostly shop for their children. In fact, 96 percent of our users are female. The main reason they sell clothes is because they genuinely care about our planet. They want to change something to lead a more sustainable family life – that is very important to them. We are here to support you with the small steps. Especially when it comes to her wardrobe and fashion.
How would you define Dotte’s core values?
It’s about putting our community first. Everything we do is focused on our community. We have a lot of content on our social media created by this community – parents who know more about sustainable wardrobe hacks than we do. We share a lot of content. That’s one of the reasons we’re growing so well: our community is talking about Dotte, they love what we do. So we’re really trying to make Dotte what they want and need.
They also run a resale collective. Why did you choose this type of business model?
We try to be realistic about the fact that parents don’t always buy second hand – they will want to buy new at times. We’re trying to encourage people to be more sustainable, and it doesn’t have to be just black and white. We wanted to work with brands that we know are committed to making clothing more sustainable and environmentally friendly. We want to uplift them and tell our community that if they want to buy new clothes, they should invest in these brands. They are crafted with lower impact and are more suitable for resale.
There are a number of criteria we use to screen brands before deciding to work with them. We will be the official resale point for this brand, and the brand will promote us to their community and encourage their customers to extend the life of their products. The brand rewards these customers by giving them discounts on new clothes. For the brands, this is an opportunity to reduce their ecological footprint even further.
Are there other ways that Dotte differs from other resellers?
We’re pretty much the only resale site that specializes in children’s fashion. There are some marketplaces where you can buy clothes and a used breast pump or a stroller – there are so many baby items that need to be shared and reused that there is huge potential here.
We are very committed to making Dotte a fashion destination. Nowadays parents are very style conscious. They want to put together their own wardrobe. They want to use fashion as a way for children to discover their personality and play with their identity, which develops throughout childhood. During this time we want to be there for you.
That’s why we have services like our Personal Shopper, where you can fill in details about your child and their preferences to find things that match their personality and preferences. Because believe me, they can have distinct tastes as young as two years old.
Has the resale model presented any challenges since launch?
No, resale is just becoming more and more relevant to our lifestyle. The pandemic has got people concerned with the impact of our actions on the planet and there has been a huge boom in resale as people have really been spurred to action. There was also an assumption that sustainable fashion was often somewhat exclusive or inaccessible because it came from smaller suppliers. Resale makes sustainable fashion accessible to all, which means we can make a bigger impact.
Where do you see Dotte in the booming future of resale?
We hope to be the number one place to buy and sell used childrenswear in the UK by the end of the year and we are well on our way to doing so. We already have the largest social following of any children’s clothing resale platform in the UK and we have more brand partners than the rest.
We also want to focus on the US and Europe. Our goal is to become the number one second-hand children’s fashion store in the world.
Do you think resale is the solution to fast fashion?
I don’t think there is only one solution. I think there will be different options. Our closets will consist of rented, borrowed, resold, used, repaired or custom made items. I also believe that we will no longer go to the shops empty-handed and come back with bags full of clothes. I think people will take their clothes with them and trade them – more of a bartering transaction than constantly buying new things. I think this will completely change the way we shop.
Do you have any exciting plans for Dotte for the coming year?
On April 25th we will start a crowd raiser campaign. This means that anyone can invest in Dotte and participate in the circular economy investments and booming resale. We actively invited our community to invest – we already have 300 pledges.
It was a very natural decision. Since Dotte is based on a community that helped us build the company, it was only right to give her the opportunity to own shares in Dotte. Since then we have had a very positive response. I think it’s only fair to let her be a part of the venture.
The reason for the capital increase is that we will launch an app this year, which is a big step for us and the most important wish of our community. The app will make it even easier and faster to resell children’s outgrown clothes.
We have also recently partnered with Marks & Spencer and we will be adding another major kidswear brand to our range this year.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Karenita Haalck