Farm Rio Introduces Resale Option, Adding To Brand's B-Corp Goals

Forbes

2 days ago

Farm Rio's new Closet-to-Closet resale program.
A significant tenet of B Corp status revolves around circularity. Many fashion brands have recently added services or platforms that allow customers to trade in clothing, typically in exchange for credit towards future purchases. The practice is so ubiquitous that it has spread to other consumer product categories; to wit, eco-friendly and development-oriented children's toy company, Lovevery, just introduced a resale marketplace for its products. Brazilian sustainable-minded brand Farm Rio, which has touted sustainable practices since day one via a tree-planting program, is adding to its circularity efforts with the launch of its 'Closet-to-Closet' program in conjunction with market-tested resale platforms, ThredUp and Poshmark. While both will operate differently, each speaks to the second-hand clothing market mindset that offers new consumers the opportunity to own a piece of the brand at a lower cost and allows current customers to avoid past purchases ending up in a landfill. It also adds to funds spent on future purchases. In today's shopping climate, it also speaks to
Poshmark, known for its democratic brand assortment, allows customers to avoid the tedious step of photographing and uploading sale items manually on its site by directly syncing with the Farm Rio website which pulls an image of the item based on the customers purchase history—thus highlighting the tech scope of online shopping logged into an account versus guest checkout. Once the item posting is created automatically, the seller approves the listing before going live. Once a piece is sold, proceeds go straight to the seller in the form of cash.
ThredUp works slightly differently and may appeal to those looking to free closet space immediately. Farm Rio customers receive a prepaid shipping label to ship eligible Farm Rio clothing, accessories, or shoes to ThredUp. Customers choosing this receive a Farm Rio gift card for a shopping credit to be used on something new.
According to brand spokesperson and marketing specialist Camilla Pinto, the timing of the initiative spoke more to a vibe.
"Circularity has always been part of our ethos, and Closet to Closet is a natural evolution of that commitment. With resale becoming a more mainstream and meaningful way to reduce fashion waste, now felt like the right time to join the movement and invite our community to extend the joy of Farm Rio pieces," she noted.
Farm Rio's new Closet-to-Closet resale program.
It's also an interesting time to feed the US resale market, which some industry voices believe will strengthen in demand in light of ongoing trade wars due to tariffs. Goods resold within the US are not subject to the import taxes regardless of the primary origin. And resale culture has permeated the US shopping landscape.
"The U.S. has a strong resale culture and an enthusiastic Farm Rio community, so it made sense to launch Closet to Closet here first as the starting point to build momentum before expanding globally," Pinto said.
Like many brand retailers, working with a third-party for an arm of the business that doesn't typically exist in its business model. Poshmark and ThredUp are popular platforms that offer intuitive, accessible experiences.
"Rather than building resale into our own channels, partnering with platforms our customers already know and trust allowed us to launch quickly and at scale, while keeping the process simple and seamless," she continued, noting it requires constant oversight.
"There are varied experiences with third-party platforms, so we will have ongoing dialogue with our partners to ensure the program feels positive and rewarding. Our goal is to make circularity easy to engage with, and we're listening closely so we can continue to improve the customer journey," she added.
The initiative follows the release of the brand's fifth sustainability report in 2024, which highlights its achievements in ESG. It's fair to note the colorful-print brand, whose 1997 founding ethos in Rio de Janeiro included planting trees each step of the way, was ahead of the curve in terms of fashion giving back in some way what it takes from nature.Farm Rio's new Closet-to-Closet resale program.
The report highlights that to date, the Certified B-Corp company has donated 1,500,000 trees and reforested nine million square meters. It's invested 1.9 million Real dollars in wildlife and can quantify 18,759.23 tons of CO2e compensated. Farm Rio also works with the Brazilian indigenous Yawananwa peoples from the Amazon, thus helping communities become self-sustaining.
Circularity efforts include the use of responsible fabrics, donating 5.98 tons of fabrics to garment collectives, and recycling efforts globally amount to over 73,000 tons of materials remaining out of landfills. The brand also held its first-ever sample sale with four editions globally that kept 22,770 pieces circular. 'Closet-to-Closet' will surely add to that figure on the brand's next report, as Pinto noted.
"We're continuing to explore new ways to grow our circularity efforts—both through retail and beyond."