Dr. Martens is furthering its commitment to sustainable shopping options.
The footwear brand has announced that it will collaborate with Depop, a top European online secondhand marketplace, in a trial to sell repaired and refurbished shoes.
Via the brand’s “ReSouled,” program, Dr. Martens will offer consumers the chance to purchase restored boots for the first time. The program is made possible through a partnership with The Boot Repair Company, a third-party entity that will repair used shoes for them to be listed on Dr. Martens ReSouled Depop shop.
“Decade after decade. Generation after generation. Thrifted, inherited and borrowed. DM’s have long been passed down — old pairs of boots finding life with new wearers,” read a description on the Dr. Martens website.
According to Dr. Martens, the new resale program is in line with the brand’s commitment to encourage sustainability and increase the secondhand lifecycle of its footwear by 2025. Though the program is currently only being launched in the U.K. as a part of a trial run, the goal is to expand the ReSouled program if it is successful.
“Our plan is to make this a regular thing, benefitting future wearers,” read a response in a FAQ section on the Dr. Martens website. “If you love something you’ve bought from ReSouled, share it on our social channels with #DrMartensResouled and let us know what you think.”
In an interview with the Guardian, Dr. Martens CEO Kenny Wilson said that refurbished or secondhand boots could potentially make up to 15% of the brand’s sales in 10 years.
“We think this is going to be a big part of how consumers shop in the future,” he told the Guardian. “This is part of something really important for the business longer term. Our incredible strength is the durability of the product. I can own a pair for seven or eight years and they are still perfectly good for someone else who wants to buy them.”
Dr. Martens is not the only brand to facilitate the resale of its products. In April, Lululemon expanded its “Lululemon Like New” trade-in and resale program to all U.S. stores. And many brands including Crocs, Walmart, Madewell, Vera Bradley, PacSun, Adidas and more utilize technology from resale marketplace ThredUp to power the resale of its products.
The global secondhand market, which includes resale and traditional thrifting, is projected to be worth $218 billion by 2026, according to ThredUp’s 2022 Resale Report.
