At eBay, our mission is to put the secondhand market firmly on the map, and we believe we have a huge opportunity to inspire even more people to consider pre-loved first.

We’ve been pioneering recommerce since its inception and we’re in the business of extending the life cycle of products, whether that’s in fashion, tech or home furniture.

Pre-loved and refurbished products are an incredibly important way to enable buyers to shop sustainably and affordably, and bring down barriers for ecommerce entrepreneurs, especially at a time when the cost-of-living and doing business is so high. And the market’s potential to deliver tangible change is clear. Recent data from WRAP suggests that if every shopper bought one pre-loved fashion item instead of new in a month, the nation could divert 6,000 tonnes from landfill.

So, over the past 12 months, we’ve rolled out a number of initiatives as part of our Buy Better Than New campaign, to drive understanding and acceptance of the circular economy and, crucially, nudge consumers towards making more responsible purchasing choices. From our partnership with Love Island, to actively promoting pre-loved items over ‘new-new’ during Black Friday, we’re also working with innovative partners like the British Fashion Council to make sustainable fashion solutions more readily available to consumers.

And we can see the initiatives as part of this campaign are having a real impact. eBay UK has seen 1400% more searches for ‘pre-loved fashion’ in Winter Love Island (January 2022) compared to the previous series (June 2022), and from the first announcement of the partnership in the summer, we’ve seen an estimated 2.7 million people say they are making more effort to shop more sustainably. We also saw a 24% increase in circular fashion businesses joining the platform in 2022 as consumers move away from the buying for buying’s sake mentality.

Textiles are then thoroughly sorted by our partner, who reuse as much as possible. Items only fit for recycling are then passed on to further suppliers, where they are cut and chopped. Those fine pieces are then combined and spun into recycled yarn to create new fabric. That fabric is dyed, finished, and stitched to create the Remade product.

To date, we have taken back over a whopping 1000+ tonnes of textiles, helping to find a second home for these items, and promote a circular economy. The scheme is available across nearly all Dunelm stores.

The word “Lagom” comes from the Swedish phrase “Lagom är bäst” (the right amount is best).

The Live Lagom Programme has evolved from being a community of customers and consumers wanting to learn how to live a healthy and sustainable life through workshops, home furnishing expertise, bespoke advice and peer to peer sharing into a global communication package where we have utilised the data collated from Middlesex University and our participants testimonials on our products to become global storytellers inspiring the many more to make small changes with big impact.

Over 40% of UK emissions coming from households, we showcased Lagom Lifestyle at large external events engaging with over 80,000 visitors, showcasing Small Space Living, Affordability and Sustainability, reducing impact on the environment, reducing energy waste and water, to have everything you need through smart sustainable solutions and products that will enable further change.  Living sustainably doesn’t have to compromise on design and comfort.

We have inspired and enabled throughout the year, creating strong testimonials and storytelling from our participants which evolved into our global ‘Green thread’ Communication package used in 460 stores across the globe. Our customer have shared over 60 customer testimonials on how they reduced their energy waste and water through our products and solutions.

Research has shown that when our customers see the communication: 85% it’s easy to understand, 75% it shows immediate benefits of being sustainable, 74% it makes being sustainable easy to do, 72% it makes sustainable seem popular to do, 72% it makes sustainable appealing to do.

IKEA is a purpose led organisation with a vision to create a better everyday life for the many people. As part of our People & Planet Positive strategy, we are committed to inspiring and enabling a billion people to live a healthy and sustainable life, in the limits of one Planet by 2030. To support our vision, Live LAGOM was developed: a growing movement of households supporting and inspiring each other to try new sustainable solutions, enabled by IKEA’s products, solutions, and co-workers.

For FY23/24 the business has invested into customer research, to better understand their needs, desires and influences. A key part of this research looks at her shopping habits and understanding of the fashion industry, so we can help educate her on responsible purchasing behaviours. Ensuring that our product and marketing appeals not only to her sense of style and day-to-day needs, but also helps her invest in quality product rather than fast fashion.

Every Radley London handbag is made with the perfect blend of both fashion and function. From the sumptuous leathers and handcrafted finishes to extra pockets and additional straps. A Radley handbag works hard for our customers, and we know that as soon as they own one, they see the benefit of buying well, so they can buy less.

With this in mind, we focus on key brand messages of quality, craftsmanship and functionality. Encouraging customers to invest in product that they’ll use for years to come, both through Radley and elsewhere.

We believe in being honest about the impact of the fashion industry, so that our customers can make informed and considered purchasing decisions. To mark Earth Day 2023, we updated all online and instore sustainability communications, ensuring they provide clear and easy-to-understand information on all areas of our supply chain. We also posted an open and honest discussion between two key team members, our Chief Brand Officer and Head of Technical, Supply & Product Development, as part of World Environment Day. Giving insight into the passion behind our ESG projects and hopes for the future.

The retail industry, including the sale of power tools, has long been associated with significant waste generation and carbon emissions. Recognizing this challenge, Screwfix set out to find a solution that would reduce waste, extend the lifespan of power tools, and maintain quality and affordability.

As an omni-channel trader of tools, hardware and accessories, Screwfix understands the impact of the waste generated by unwanted, damaged and failing tools. As part of our sustainability strategy, we aim to keep products in use for longer. ‘Refurb by Screwfix’ is part of reaching that ambition. We’ve been partnering with iForce for several years to reduce waste from returned electrical products. Returns are tested, cleaned, and refurbished for resale at a discounted rate. In total, Screwfix and iForce refurbished over 100,000 products for resale in 2022.

Screwfix wanted to play our part in influencing customers choices and supporting them in making more sustainable product purchases. Prior to 2022, our refurbished tools were sold on via third party websites. Refurb by Screwfix was launched in 2022 on Screwfix.com to bring it into the mainstream.

This initiative significantly extends the lifespan of tools, reducing the need for new manufacturing and preventing unnecessary waste. By providing fully refurbished tools with accessories and a one-year guarantee, we promote sustainability while ensuring tradespeople have everything they need to complete their jobs. This positive impact on sustainability aligns with our broader goals of waste reduction and circular economy practices.