Can ‘new to me’ become just as good as ‘brand new?’ The secondhand fashion movement is officially on the rise. From consumers to businesses, more of us are finding more circular ways to consume and distribute fashion. Analysts have even predicted that the total secondhand market will grow to US$80 billion by 2029, representing almost double the size of the US$43 billion fast fashion industry.

Despite this, the preloved movement still has its challenges and barriers to growth; from stereotypes and phobias of secondhand products, to navigating and building new business models.

During this exciting panel, you'll hear from brand founders, industry leaders and community voices from Singapore and Hong Kong who are championing the secondhand movement in Asia.

We'll be chatting about:

- The different business models championing the secondhand movement today.

- The progress the sector has made and the challenges its facing.

- The big one: how can we change perceptions and stigmas around secondhand products, especially here in Asia?

MEET THE SPEAKERS:

Sarah Garner, Retykle

Sarah is the Founder of Retykle, Asia’s first and leading online platform for buying and selling pre-loved children's & maternity fashion. Before starting Retykle, Sarah worked with some of the world’s best luxury fashion companies including Lane Crawford, LVMH, Richemont & Holt Renfrew. Retykle is an innovative circular retail model which benefits the lives of parents, the community and the environment by keeping kids clothing in circulation.

Jasmine Tuan, Cloop & Zero Waste Singapore

Jasmine is no stranger to the creative and media industry, having worked for the best club in Singapore (Zouk), founded a concept retail store (Blackmarket), cult fashion label (FruFru & Tigerlily), and organized several especial events. The creative brand consultant turned her life around after she met a Zero Waste NGO in Malaysia, where she learnt about the 5R sequence to sustainable living: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot, and started applying it to her lifestyle in 2018. Jasmine stopped buying new fashion items entirely and joined forces with Cloop on a mission to reduce fashion overconsumption and waste in Singapore. Through her Marketing AD role with Zero Waste SG NGO, Jasmine hopes to move Singapore towards becoming a Zero Waste Nation, one R at a time.

Norbyah Nolosco

Norbyah is a wife, a mother of three, a high school teacher, thrifter and vintage lover based in Hong Kong. Her style is largely influenced by her belief that there's value in pieces from the past. Fashion is cyclical. And, clothes have a longer lifespan than the time they spend in people's wardrobes. She wears a mix of vintage and secondhand clothing nearly exclusively because of her desire to reduce textile waste and to redress items that would in many cases be discarded. She is co-host of a seasonal Instagram challenge called Trends in Your Closet which aims to encourage people to dig into their closets to find and interpret current trends with pieces they already own.

Nejla Matam-Finn, The Fifth Collection

Nejla Matam-Finn is the creator and mastermind behind award-winning luxury vintage fashion re-commerce platform, THE FIFTH COLLECTION. Her extensive global experience garnered from her French, Swiss and Algerian roots and 12 years of living and working in Asia, coupled with her deep knowledge of consumer behaviour in high-end luxury brands and her love for antiques and collectibles, gave her the inspiration to start her own luxury trading platform specialised in vintage fashion. Together with her husband Michael Finn, they launched THE FIFTH COLLECTION in 2014, each bringing different strengths to the business: she being focused on the product, customer and market expertise while he provides the financial know-how and operating expertise.

ABOUT ZERRIN

ZERRIN is a digital media platform and marketplace connecting you with the best in independent, conscious D2C brands and resources to inspire your green journey. We aim to be a safe, non-judgemental space for anyone to explore sustainability, and advocate progress over perfection.