Retail: Used clothing trade is progressing in Switzerland

Used clothing trade is progressing in Switzerland. On the Ricardo platform alone, he jumped more than 30% in two years. To fight against the “fast fashion” also increasing, Public Eye offers the creation of a fashion for fashion.

More than 600,000 used clothing and accessories were sold on the Ricardo online platform in 2024, an increase of 31% in two years, according to a press release from Ricardo published on Tuesday. The average selling price of a used woman’s clothing was around 27 francs, men’s clothes were on average around 41 francs.

But the second -hand trade is not the only one to have the odds. The consumption of “fast fashion” – or disposable fashion – also increases, in Europe as in Switzerland. According to a study by the European Environment Agency (AEE), the consumption of textiles per capita in Europe reached 19 kilos in 2022, two kilos more than in 2019.

A large part of the textiles consumed end up in the trash. According to the European study, only 22% of used textiles are collected or reused.

Swiss Fund for fashion

In Switzerland, each year, one person consumes on average more than 14 kilos of clothing and shoes, said Public Eye in a separate press release. In the end, 100,000 tonnes of clothes per year – products at low prices and barely worn – end up incinerated as waste or exported to lower -income countries.

The organization announces to launch a petition asking the Federal Council to create a Swiss fashion fund. The goal: to oblige companies in the sector to participate in the social and environmental costs of their business model.

The companies concerned should pay a contribution to the fund for each new article placed on the Swiss market: the more sustainable a garment, the lower the contribution. The fund could in particular be used to encourage the drop in repair costs, to expand second -hand supply or more sustainable production.

Public Eye cites the example of the EU and France, which take legislative measures against disposable fashion. The Federal Council has also recognized the problem and mentioned the possibility of a tax on sorting and recycling, but does not take a position, impatient the organization.