Vero opened ‘The Good Shop,’ a second-hand fashion pop-up store, at the Vero Supercampus to encourage team members to actively participate in the second-hand economy in fast fashion-obsessed Bangkok.
If you visit the Vero Supercampus in Bangkok, you won’t find a typical PR agency lobby. Instead, you will see a collection of stylish fashion items, from vintage denim to hip streetwear, elegant cocktail dresses, and stylish menswear hanging on aluminum and upcycled wood racks.
Welcome to The Good Shop.
This pop-up shop, which opened on August 30th, offers Vero team members a platform to buy, sell, and donate gently used fashion, promoting a more eco-conscious approach to consumption. Beyond its focus on second-hand fashion, the shop adheres to the principles of the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Thoughtfully sourced materials were used in the construction of the station, which was designed by Oranun Athibodee, winner of the Vero Sustainable Station Design Contest. The drawers are crafted from repurposed fruit baskets, hangers fashioned from recycled plastic, and even the shelf bases are ingeniously upcycled from cardboard boxes. Item labels use recycled paper and a reusable rubber stamp. People can also write notes about their pre-loved items to new owners on recycled paper.
“The inspiration for The Good Shop was a genuine desire to enjoy fashion in a more sustainable way,” says Umaporn Whittaker-Thompson, Vero’s VP of Consumer Communications, who started the conversation about sustainable fashion a few months back. “We can now easily sell or donate our gently used items within the Vero community and help each other live more sustainably while finding new ways to express ourselves through new fashion choices.”
While small in scale, Vero’s The Good Shop is a compelling appeal for a shift toward slow fashion among Thailand’s fast fashion-obsessed population. As one of the biggest contributors to textile waste in the Southeast Asian region, Thailand’s fashion industry faces mounting calls for environmental consciousness. There have been visible changes in Thai consumers’ behavior towards fashion in recent years, particularly as the younger demographic gains a heightened awareness of the industry’s ecological footprint.
Second-hand fashion is gaining attention. What comes next?
Recognizing fashion’s significant impact on climate change, second-hand fashion addresses environmental concerns by extending the lifecycle of clothing that otherwise ends up in landfills, decreasing resource consumption, and lowering the wearer’s carbon footprint.
Key industry players have already made new initiatives to establish circularity for their products and customers. In September, Spanish fast fashion brand Zara expanded its service to sell, repair, or donate second-hand clothes in France after it launched the service in Britain. Fast fashion retailer H&M began a similar initiative in 2020.
Even luxury labels such as Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, and Chloé have delved into the resale fashion sector to simultaneously support revenue and meet sustainability goals.
The second-hand market is not only flourishing but reshaping the industry landscape on a global scale. It was valued at $405 billion in 2022 and is predicted to reach $1.3 trillion by the close of 2031. Second-hand fashion alone is projected to grow 127% by 2026 to $218 billion, three times faster than the global apparel market.
Studies show that Gen Z consumers drive the second-hand trend, with 80% of this age group saying that the stigma once linked to buying used items is now largely absent. These consumers are aware of the effects of their consumption on the environment and believe that purchasing used goods contributes to resource conservation and trash reduction. This demonstrates that sustainability is becoming as influential as price, value, style, and quality in shaping the direction of the retail industry. As the second-hand economy gains more traction, its position as a dynamic and profitable business frontier is undeniable.
A learning venture for Vero
The Good Shop, perhaps the first ever second-hand pop-up store set inside an office, presents a unique opportunity for Vero to gain direct insights into young professionals’ shifting preferences and ethics toward fashion – and how these will impact the future of the industry in Thailand and beyond. It will also allow the agency to develop a deeper understanding of the second-hand industry that’s gaining momentum in the consumer landscape.
“The Good Shop is a great way for us to delve deeper into the business dynamics around sustainability and fashion and the creative and communicative efforts required to generate understanding and excitement about the circular economy,” said Vero CEO Brian Griffin.
“It is designed to help us all become better consultants for clients who need support, whether they are fast fashion brands looking to pivot to slow(er) fashion, tech platforms selling pre-owned goods, or luxury brands selling pre-owned items. We at Vero believe this will help us stand out from other agencies when circular economy clients seek counsel.”
Through its Good Shop initiative, Vero is also fortifying its commitment to champion sustainability in a region particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Last year, Vero became one of the first signatories of the Clean Creatives Pledge to refuse contracts with fossil fuel companies. In May, Vero published a comprehensive playbook for authentic sustainability communications to guide brands in conveying sustainability efforts with transparency and credibility.