Following on from Australian Fashion Week, Afterpay has released a new report which covers the fashion industry since 2020.

While it covered a few a different consumer trends in fashion, their research around re-commerce, or clothing resale, found useful insights into how we are shopping for our fashion.

It found that 67 percent of fashion shoppers, which is over two-thirds, have bought or sold second-hand clothing. While 18 percent of shoppers resell their unwanted items online, about 70 percent of Australians take their garments to second-hand shops when they are finished wearing them.

The clothing industry, considered one of the top global polluters, means that Australians are increasingly prioritising sustainable fashion. In fact, 40 percent of shoppers say finding sustainably -made clothing and fashion accessories is important to them. However, they are encountering a number of barriers.

The top consideration when buying fashion and accessories is price. Up to 83 percent of clothes shoppers report that sustainable choices are too expensive when compared to cheap, fast fashion options. The report also found that 47 percent of fashion buyers found it difficult to source sustainable brands with two-thirds suggesting that Australia has too few sustainable clothing brands.

Listening to Australian shoppers, it is clear that they are keen for meaningful improvements across fashion and clothing from our local brands.

Australia has seen a strong uptake in clothing resale platforms, including an increase in the popularity of online platforms to independently resell their clothes.

With a critical shortage of skilled workers and materials, together with strong inflationary pressures, the fashion manufacturing industry needs to rethink their outdated business models to be in a better position to become a thriving, resilient industry.

Australian fashion contributes over $27.2 billion to our national economy and employs more than 489,000 people. This means we have an exciting opportunity to build a socially, environmentally and economically prosperous industry that responsibly meets the needs of our fashion lovers.