The Platform is the Prize
Then you have the secondhand platforms, which are a different beast altogether. These aren’t just online jumble sales. They are vibrant, social ecosystems. By blending social media with e-commerce, they create powerful network effects. The more sellers that join, the more choice buyers have. The more buyers that join, the bigger the audience for sellers.
It’s a virtuous cycle that builds a formidable competitive moat. You can’t just launch a rival app and expect to succeed, because you don’t have the community. This stickiness is the holy grail for any digital business, and it allows these platforms to command a slice of every transaction. For investors, this focus on companies at the centre of this circular economy, such as those in the Ethical Fashion basket, could present an interesting way to gain exposure to the trend. Of course, all investing carries risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results.
This shift isn’t just happening in a vacuum. Regulators, bless their bureaucratic hearts, are finally catching on. New environmental rules are being rolled out globally. For the laggards still churning out disposable clothes in opaque supply chains, this is a nightmare. For the companies that are already ahead of the curve, it’s a gift. They can sit back and watch their competitors scramble to comply, facing costly changes just to stay in the game.
