AirRobe is a game-changing pre-loved marketplace that brings retailers, merchants and fashion lovers together in the circular economy with just one click. AirRobe facilitates a mutually beneficial system for retail merchants and customers via an e-commerce widget.
For some people, it may sound like a dream come true, turning retail therapy into an investment portfolio whilst saving the environment at the same time.
AirRobe’s aims to disrupt the fashion industry
“Our mission is to tackle fast fashion through innovation and empower people to join the circular economy and make a positive impact on the planet, one preloved item at a time.”
“We are an impact-driven brand that values environmental returns as well as financial returns, like so many of our customers,” said AirRobe’s Founder Hannon Comazzetto.
AirRobe has innovated on the process of reselling to make it easy and fun for shoppers.
AirRobe connects with the retailer to capture the images and details of the purchased item and store them in the customer’s AirRobe account. If the customer feels ready to move on from the item, with one click they can choose to re-sell, rent or recycle the item.
The customer can edit the resale price and add a condition note. AirRobe’s new spin on the resale process means shoppers never have to go through the manual listing process again.
Etsy’s takeover of Depop confirms what many have predicted since the end of last decade.
The circular fashion model is about to go viral. While resale was once a curse word for high-end brands trying to preserve their ‘luxury’ kudos, labels like Gucci have booked their seat on the reselling rocketship by collaborating with online consignment store The Real Real.
Levis are also in the game, creating their own secondhand marketplace to retain some of the resale profit. Resale is expected to grow by 500% in the next five years.
AirRobe will encourage a wider span of consumers to think about fashion’s circularity.
“Our approach is unique because we are partnering with the retailers and the consumers in a way that benefits everyone. I began reselling as a teenager, but always felt the process would be more popular if it wasn’t so clunky,” Comazzetto reiterated.
“Having to take photos, write descriptions and look up resale prices was slow and off-putting, cutting out consumers who would otherwise love to be reselling their pre-loved items.”
AirRobe’s strategy against effects of fast fashion
Now she’s on a mission to incentivise the creation of – and the investment in – timeless, long-lasting pieces by giving fashion brands and consumers the tools to monetise the circular economy. AirRobe is evolving into a platform for change in consumer habits.
Hannon adds, “We’re giving retailers the chance to become early adopters of this circular business model. Consumers are beginning to see their wardrobe as an asset.”
“If a client has a budget of $200 for a dress to wear to a wedding, then sees a fast fashion dress for $120 versus a better quality designer one for $400, the option of re-selling it on AirRobe for $300 after a few wears will encourage her to make the more sustainable option.”
“Whether or not the customer chooses to sell it, rent it or keep it and give it to her daughter, it is the more sustainable choice. If she wants to resell, it’s quick and easy with AirRobe.”
“It encourages consumers to stop thinking of fashion as instant, short-lived and disposable, but rather as an investment to look after, as they may sell it later, like a house or car.”
The model represents a complete overhaul of the post-fast fashion shopper’s mindset, as McKinsey’s Karl-Hendrik Magnus says, “seriously questioning the end-of-ownership concept.”
AirRobe is on track to a sustainable fashion industry
Sustainable online retail store The Fashion Advocate is one of AirRobe’s early success stories.
Claire Goldsworthy, Founder of The Fashion Advocate says, “AirRobe is a great step into the circular economy for fashion retailers.The time for disposal of fast fashion has passed.”
“It used to be the ‘cool kid’ thing to have a few outfits every weekend, but we know too much about the impacts of fast fashion now to continue those throwaway habits.”
“We know that fast fashion is inhumane and environmentally irresponsible. It’s not an assumption but proven by science, and it’s factual. Fast fashion is slowly killing Mother Earth.”
“It’s time to revert to minimalist ways in our wardrobe and buy less, love our clothes more, practice circularity, and reduce, reuse, recycle. I advocate for slow, mindful fashion.”
Goldsworthy saw results after launching AirRobe’s solution on The Fashion Advocate’s eCommerce site with a 76% increase in order value and a 300% increase in customer retention.
AirRobe features independent vendors of high quality second hand fashion, and collaborates with fashion stylists by developing branded stores for their extraordinary archives.
Celebrity stylists Lydia-Jane Saunders and Natalia de Martin-Crevani re-sell Prada and Versace, and sustainable stylist Joanne Gambale of Slogue introduces a curated selection of vintage and archival designer, from Yohji Yamamoto to Romance was Born.
“It’s now widely agreed that the most sustainable product is the one you’re saving from landfill, and the stats show that resale’s biggest advocates, Gen Z and Millennials will account for 60% of total retail spend, circular fashion is here to stay,” Hannon concluded.
