Not So Fast (Fashion)- Resale Continues to Rise
Our Investment in Beni
Whether you try and keep up with the latest fashion trends, or your kids do, there’s no denying the prevalence of fast fashion. Over the past two decades, the units of clothing sold have more than doubled to over 100 billion units, while the number of times an item is worn on average has dropped by 36%. So what does that mean? A lot of clothes sitting in closets or going to the landfill. From materials, supply chains, production, and waste, the fashion and apparel industries create an estimated 92 million tons of waste each year and contribute 4–10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. The UN has declared that “the only way to make fashion sustainable is to end the throwaway culture.”
As part of our commitment to investing in solutions that help decarbonize industries, we have been keeping an eye on new technologies, innovative business models, and promising startups in the fashion and apparel industries that help create a circular economy. To date, we’ve made several investments — ranging from 3D-printed circular footwear with HILOS, to the end of a garment’s life cycle with textile recycler Refiberd and sustainable fashion company Unless Collective, focused on biodegradable zero-plastic streetwear.
Another area we’ve been following for quite some time is the secondhand market or “re-commerce”. The re-commerce market is booming and is expected to grow to $82B by 2026. That’s 16x faster than traditional retail. Younger generations including millennials and Gen Z are driving this trend, with 45% refusing to buy from non-sustainable brands. Overall, 93% of shoppers want to buy secondhand according to research; however, only 53% do because of friction in the current shopping experience. The reasons cited are primarily around prioritizing sustainability, and affordability, exacerbated by current market factors such as rising inflation.
Hence our newest investment in Beni, a data-driven approach to the online re-commerce market. Beni is a browser extension (check it out here) that enables shoppers to find the best secondhand alternatives from across the internet.
Say you are shopping online at a major retailer for a new pair of white sneakers. Beni will suggest those exact shoes, or similar, available from a variety of secondhand stores online. The power is in its aggregation — you’ll see options from secondhand sites such as Poshmark, ThredUp, TheRealReal, and more. No longer do consumers have to search individual sites, removing one of the main friction points that has held many consumers back from online resale.
Beni in action
Beyond the consumer, we are interested in how solutions like Beni enable the broader re-commerce industry by partnering with resale sites and brands. Through relationships with over 27 established resale sites, Beni has access to real-time inventory data, allowing them to build the largest online database for resale, and provide meaningful insights back to brands.
Beni is led by a powerhouse team of four women, Sarah Pinner (Co-founder/CEO), Celine Mol (Co-founder/CTO), Ryan Shand (COO), and Kate Sanner (CMO). At Better Ventures, we look for those mission-driven founders who are fired up to solve big challenges in legacy industries and are leveraging tech and data to do so. The Beni team brings experience from companies such as Imperfect Foods and Honey, technical acumen, a shared passion for sustainability and reducing waste, and a ton of hustle.
The Beni team
We are excited to support the entire Beni team alongside a great group of fellow investors (and all female Partners!) at Buoyant Ventures, Chingona Ventures, Starting Line, and XYZ.
For those founders out there, if you are working on an innovative solution for the circular economy, reach out and we’d be happy to chat.
The Better Ventures team.
