NOTICED: "RECOMMERCE"

I’ve never been keen on total buying blackouts, but have been an advocate of mindful consuming.  I’ve recently read about a trend called “recommerce” which sounds a lot like mindful consumption.  Recommerce is about buying things with knowledge of the value of ownership as well as resale value. While things like cars and houses have always been purchased with resale value in mind, today anything from electronics to clothing can hold resale potential. 

Recommerce savvy consumers are investing in “upgradeable” products rather than stocking up on piles of junkaholic style possessions. Buying well-made, well-crafted and durable is looking increasingly smarter than purchasing poorly constructed. Retailers, surprisingly, are also embracing this consuming paradigm.  French fashion label A.P.C., for example, has a Better Worn-Out program offering half-price on jeans when you bring in your used pair. Patagonia recently launched a "buy less, buy used" initiative in collaboration with eBay, encouraging the purchase of the label's used items. The continued popularity of "vintage" can also be considered part of the trend.

Recommerce is neither earth shaking nor unprecedented, but it is a sign that the age of conspicuous over consumption, entirely supported and encouraged by retailers, is waning. Maybe it's also a sign of the beginning of the end of “disposable” style purchasing which has been glamorized in hoarding videos and embraced by zombie-like consumers (one of which I used to be) around the globe.

 thanks to trendwatching.com