The RealReal Releases First-Ever Scientific Measurement of the Resale Impact of Handbags, Fine Jewelry and Watches
TRR Sustainability Calculator Now Quantifies Carbon Emissions Savings and Water Footprint Reduction Across Five Categories
SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (Nasdaq: REAL) — the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated, resale luxury goods — today announced the expansion of its Sustainability Calculator, a first-of-its-kind tool that The RealReal developed and launched in 2018 to quantify the impact of resale. It initially measured the greenhouse gas emissions savings and water footprint reduction by recirculating apparel, and now generates savings data for double the number of items on The RealReal’s marketplace. After a year of research and collaboration with environmental experts and consultants, The RealReal Sustainability Calculator now also quantifies the positive impact of keeping handbags, fine jewelry and watches in circulation.
On its current trajectory, the fashion industry is poised to miss the 1.5-degree pathway laid out by the Paris Climate Accord by more than 50 percent. But according to McKinsey, recirculating one in five garments by 2030 can actually help achieve that goal.
“For more than a decade, we’ve focused on keeping more than 23 million items in circulation in the pursuit of a more circular future,” said James Rogers, The RealReal’s Director of Sustainability. “Since its launch in 2018, the calculator has encouraged sustainable behavior by showing the savings that customers personally drive through what they buy and sell on TRR. I’m thrilled that the calculator now captures the impact data across even more categories, and we look forward to continuing to demonstrate the environmental power of shopping secondhand.”
The RealReal’s Sustainability Calculator takes into account the impact of production of raw materials as well as the weight of an item. For apparel, TRR gathers impact calculations for fabrics such as cotton, silk and nylon, and applies those calculations to several fabric blends across its entire inventory. For jewelry and watches, impact calculations included the materials used in straps and casings, including the weight of ceramics and common metals such as golds and silvers, palladium, platinum, brass, bronze and stainless steel.
From inception through March 31, 2022, The RealReal has saved 2.8+ billion liters of water (the equivalent of 12 billion 8oz glasses of water) and 52,767 metric tons of carbon (the amount absorbed by 8.8 million trees in one year) across all measured categories. For specific categories, the breakdown is as follows:
- Handbags: 984M+ liters of water and 5.1K+ metric tons carbon
- Apparel (Mens, Womens and Kids): 1.69B+ liters of water and 31.8K metric tons of carbon
- Fine Jewelry: 1.9M+ liters of water and 223 metric tons of carbon
- Watches: 145.8M+ liters of water and 15.5K+ metric tons of carbon
The TRR Sustainability Calculator was developed in partnership with leading environmental consultants , and Brown and , and follows the below methodology:
- Shift Advantage, Inc., and Brown and Wilmanns Environmental, LLC, created environmental impact estimates by looking at the average water and carbon impact of production of new products across global supply chains.
- The RealReal applied that data across its categories and inventory and developed an impact calculation which combines the production of raw materials with the weight of each item.
- For apparel, handbags and watches, The RealReal weighed items across numerous categories in a wide variety of sizes and brands representative of its inventory to determine average item weights.
- For jewelry, TRR used the exact weight since it is captured in their database.
- The RealReal then applies the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production () displacement rate of 33%, conservatively assuming that for every three items consigned, one is not produced new.
- That final data number is what shoppers see in product descriptions and on the sales pages consignors see.
The RealReal is committed to extending the life of luxury and is always working to incorporate more industry learnings to evolve our calculations to further quantify the positive impact of the circular economy. To learn more about the sustainability calculator methodology and download the corresponding white paper, please visit .
About The RealReal Inc.
The RealReal is the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated, resale luxury goods, with more than 25 million members. With a rigorous authentication process overseen by experts, The RealReal provides a safe and reliable platform for consumers to buy and sell their luxury items. We have hundreds of in-house gemologists, horologists and brand authenticators who inspect thousands of items each day. As a sustainable company, we give new life to pieces by thousands of brands across numerous categories—including women's and men's fashion, fine jewelry and watches, art and home—in support of the circular economy. We make selling effortless with free virtual appointments, in-home pickup, drop-off and direct shipping. We do all of the work for consignors, including authenticating, using AI and machine learning to determine optimal pricing, photographing and listing their items, as well as handling shipping and customer service. At our 19 retail locations, including our 16 shoppable stores, customers can sell, meet with our experts and receive free valuations.
Press Contact:
Laura Hogya
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