The RealReal Releases First-Ever Scientific Measurement of the Resale Impact of Handbags, Fine Jewelry and Watches
April 29 2022 - 9:00AM
The RealReal (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 Shift Advantage, Inc., and
Brown and Wilmanns Environmental, LLC, 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 (WRAP) 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
www.therealreal.com/sustainability.
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
Hogyapr@therealreal.com
A PDF accompanying this press release
is available
at: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/5f9979e6-f1f7-4361-8916-80570d74667b
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