OUR BRAND
Sustainability
Unlike the traditional linear economy of make, use, and dispose, the circular economy is regenerative by design. The RealReal is contributing to a more sustainable future where luxury goods stay in circulation with what we call the two Rs: Resell and Reimagine.
Resell
Expertly crafted items can change hands and still retain their beauty and value. All of our members, whether they buy or sell with us, play an important role in reducing the impact of luxury goods on the environment.
The TRR Sustainability Calculator
The RealReal teamed up with leading environmental consulting firm Shift Advantage and sustainable textile leaders from the World Resources Institute and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to develop a first-of-its-kind calculator to measure the greenhouse gases, energy output and water usage saved by the selling process since the founding of The RealReal.* Thanks to our members, we’re softening luxury’s impact on the environment, one sale at a time. And now we can prove it.
73,207 Metric Tons of Carbon Saved
by selling on TRR since our founding.
That’s about the same amount 12.2 million trees absorb in one year.
3.9 Billion Liters of Water Saved
by selling on TRR since our founding.
That’s equivalent to 16.5 Billion 8 oz. glasses of water.
“Sustainability is of the utmost importance to me, and I love knowing that my clothes will go to a new home and be cherished instead of ending up in a landfill. It is also important to me that selling the clothes I have moved beyond is as easy as possible.”
— TRR Consignor
Reimagine
TRR is forging relationships with leading global luxury brands to create a more sustainable future. Together with our 80+ brand partners, we’re expanding our circle of influence and establishing new industry standards and best practices.
TRR X GUCCI
For every TRR member who bought or sold a Gucci item during our partnership, a donation was made to One Tree Planted to support global reforestation
TRR X BURBERRY
TRR members who sold a Burberry item were offered a personal styling appointment and British High Tea at a Burberry store
TRR X STELLA McCARTNEY
Sell any Stella McCartney item and earn $100 to shop at Stella McCartney
*The RealReal developed its TRR Sustainability Calculator in order to quantify the environmental savings (greenhouse gasses, energy & water) gained since January 1st, 2012 from the sale and purchase of previously owned men's and women’s suiting, pants, dresses, tops, knitwear, jackets and outerwear across the platform as compared to the environmental costs of manufacturing those same or similar products for the first time.
The RealReal does not own the production supply chain for items sold, nor does it have access to actual fabrics, dyes, weaves and production techniques used in the production and manufacture of those products. Furthermore, the breadth and diversity of items — spanning type, brand, fabric and size — required the application of averages and assumptions as to greenhouse gasses, energy and water usage in the manufacture of the items it compared and analyzed. The RealReal applied the industry-accepted displacement rate of 30% as outlined in wrap’s Benefits of Reuse Case Study, reflecting the assumption that for every item purchased on The RealReal, 1/3 of that was not newly manufactured and so lessened the environmental cost of the item by 1/3 as opposed to buying it new. Displayed product-level calculations reflect estimates made for the respective item group and do not represent precise estimates for that specific product. Over time, The RealReal will apply industry learnings and refine methodology and calculations to achieve maximum accuracy, which may result in changes in stated item impacts. The methodology to estimate the environmental impact of The RealReal’s products was reviewed by an esteemed group of sustainability experts. Their feedback was integrated into the final tool and methodology. The RealReal would like to provide a special thank you to these experts for providing their time and expertise: Camille Gillet, Make Fashion Circular, Ellen MacArthur Foundation -- Michael Sadowski, Sustainability Consultant -- Eliot Metzger, Senior Associate at World Resources Institute (WRI). The RealReal retained Shift Advantage, Inc., a sustainability consultancy, to develop its environmental impact calculator.
**Carbon and water savings are based on the avoidance of carbon emissions and water consumption from producing new products. In accordance with the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, this carbon equivalency assumes an average zero to 10-year-old tree absorbs roughly 6kg of carbon per year.