eBay Is Teaming Up With British Vogue’s Forces For Change Initiative

More than three years after British Vogue’s momentous September 2019 cover, guest edited by the Duchess of Sussex, Forces For Change has become a far-reaching movement, highlighting those creating change across the worlds of fashion, culture, politics and beyond.

That’s why eBay UK has become the latest to partner with Vogue on the Forces For Change initiative, spotlighting the strides that are being made when it comes to sustainable fashion. “What we have really spent a lot of time doing over the last few years is trying to create a behavioural change with consumers, and also within the industry, [to] extend the life of products,” says Kirsty Keoghan, eBay UK’s general manager of global fashion. “We’ve tried to make buying pre-loved something that’s much more mainstream and doesn’t have some of the same stigmas attached that it might have done in years gone by.”

Indeed, eBay’s sponsorship of Love Island was lauded for making second-hand fashion the “new normal”, with Islanders seen wearing preloved looks in every episode of the latest series. While the knock-on effect of the partnership is difficult to measure, even small changes in behaviour can make a difference. Research conducted by eBay and waste charity WRAP found that if everyone in the UK bought one second-hand item, instead of a new item, a month, it would save 6,000 tonnes of fashion going to landfill a year – the equivalent to 260,000 full suitcases.

In a bid to make buying second-hand as easy as possible, eBay has an authentication guarantee for its sneakers, handbags and watches – so that customers can shop with confidence. “It really gives a consumer that trust, knowing that they are buying what they think they’re buying; what condition it’s in, if it’s listed correctly,” Keoghan explains.

As well as shifting consumer behaviour, eBay is also focused on promoting circularity within the fashion industry at large, launching its Circular Fashion Innovator Fund with the British Fashion Council in 2022. “Innovation is really key,” Keoghan says. “How can we get further up the supply chain to make items more sustainable in the first place? How can we make them easier to recycle?”

Given fashion’s urgent need to address its impact on the planet, all these questions will become ever more important going forward. Watch this space to find out how eBay UK and British Vogue are working together to move the needle on sustainable fashion in the months to come.