UK's eBay launches Imperfects to drive more circularity on Earth Day

As shoppers look to reduce their fashion spend and environmental footprint, eBay UK has announced the launch of Imperfects - the fashion equivalent to supermarkets' wonky veg initiative, which launched in a bid to cut food waste. Launching this week to mark Earth Day, the US-based e-commerce giant is encouraging shoppers to invest in their planet.

eBay’s Imperfects range offers clothes, shoes and accessories which are considered new, but with defects, from over 100 high-street and high-end designers including North Face, Off White, Puma, Fila, and Timberland at up to 60 per cent off. Imperfect items may include defects such as a small scuff or mark, a button missing or a loose thread that may have been from the factory or are ex-display which means they can’t be sold at full price as it did not meet the manufacturer’s strict quality standards, eBay said in a press release.

New data from the marketplace has found UK shoppers are becoming increasingly conscious. As they look for ways to save both money and the planet, searches for ‘preloved clothes’ have multiplied 9x in the last year and searches for ‘used dress’ are up by 156 per cent.

“With growing financial pressures and the climate crisis continuing to be at the forefront of consumers’ minds, we’re proud to launch Imperfects as another avenue to help keep fashion items out of landfill,” Jemma Tadd, head of fashion at eBay UK, said.

It’s often the fashion items that may have not made the ‘cut’ and failed quality assurance checks - as a result customers would not have had the opportunity to purchase the items. eBay is providing a platform for these items to be given a second chance, and be sold, despite their imperfections.

“Imperfect clothing, while perhaps not being able to be sold at retail price by brands, still deserves a space in someone’s wardrobe. eBay’s new online destination will continue to save thousands of high-quality fashion items from going to waste too soon and help the conscious minded consumer get their hands on in-demand brands,” Simon Payne at Sole Responsibility, an eBay UK seller, said.