Retykle: Making Sustainable Fashion Easy, Convenient, and Trustworthy

SEONWOO LEE
Aug 26
9 min read

*This article was originally published as a contribution to the Dong-A Business Review (DBR) in March 2024.

Startup Trend in Southeast Asia: Singapore’s Recommerce Platform Retykle

Article at a Glance

Retykle, a Singapore startup, is advancing sustainability in the fashion industry—one of the world’s most polluting sectors. Instead of focusing on greener manufacturing processes, the company addresses the challenge through reuse and resale of clothing.

By concentrating on children’s and maternity wear—categories that are most frequently discarded—Retykle transforms one-off, linear consumption into a repeatable and circular process.

Yet, what truly powered Retykle’s growth was not simply its environmental message, but its ability to deliver convenience and trust. For sellers, the process is effortless: schedule a pickup, leave items at the doorstep, and Retykle does the rest. A strict quality-control process ensures that only items passing inspection are listed, building buyer confidence.

Through this combination of ease, safety, and reliability, Retykle has both retained existing customers and attracted new ones. At the same time, by enabling seamless transitions between sellers and buyers and forging partnerships with like-minded organisations, the company continues to expand its influence in Southeast Asia’s growing circular economy.

In recent years, ESG management has risen to the forefront of corporate agendas. With accelerating environmental degradation, and with the need to regulate resource use, energy efficiency, and carbon emissions, environmental considerations have become a central factor in corporate evaluation.

Singapore, where the author resides, has taken a nationwide approach to building a sustainable development model by introducing a series of regulations and policies. One notable example is its carbon tax. Introduced in 2019 at SGD 5 per tonne of carbon dioxide, the tax rose fivefold to SGD 25 in 2024, and the government has announced plans to raise it progressively to as much as SGD 80 by 2030. Earlier, in February 2021, the government unveiled the Singapore Green Plan 2030, underscoring its commitment to climate action and sustainability.

One industry where the urgency of ESG is most evident is fashion and textiles. The apparel industry has been identified as the second-largest polluter after petrochemicals. Most low-cost clothing is made from synthetic fibres such as acrylic, nylon, and polyester, which cannot be recycled and must instead be incinerated or landfilled. During disposal, these materials release toxic chemicals—including microplastics—that contaminate groundwater and soil.

According to a 2020 report from the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, 6–10% of greenhouse gas emissions, and 20–35% of marine microplastic pollution. To put this in perspective, the industry emits more carbon than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. The volume of discarded clothing, estimated at 92 million tonnes in 2015, is projected to reach 148 million tonnes by 2030.

Even natural fibres are not without issues. While cotton produces lower carbon emissions, it carries significant water costs. As highlighted in National Geographic’s How Your T-Shirt Can Make a Difference, producing a single T-shirt consumes the equivalent of nearly 900 days of drinking water for one person, and a pair of jeans requires the equivalent of 10 years of water consumption.

Why Reuse Matters as Much as Greener Manufacturing

As these figures suggest, apparel manufacturers are under mounting pressure to minimise environmental damage, and many are investing heavily in greener production. A growing number of companies are shifting from petroleum-based materials to more sustainable alternatives. A leading example is Patagonia, which has used 100% organic cotton for all its cotton products since 1996. The share of environmentally friendly fibres in its product line—ranging from organic and recycled cotton to hemp, recycled polyester, and recycled nylon—rose from 43% in 2016 to 88% in 2022.

The company reports that its use of recycled polyester alone has eliminated 14.6 million pounds of CO₂ emissions since 2019—an amount equivalent to driving a petrol car around the Earth roughly 1,000 times. Patagonia has pledged to go further by using 100% sustainable materials and fully recyclable packaging by 2025, and to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire business by 2030.

While many brands are focused on production, others are taking a different approach: addressing the disposal stage of clothing. These companies are restructuring what was once a one-way, linear process of consumption into a circular cycle of reuse. This has given rise to the recommerce platform market, where Singapore-based Retykle has emerged as a pioneer.

Retykle focuses specifically on children’s and maternity wear, two of the most frequently discarded categories. On average, a child outgrows more than 1,700 pieces of clothing before adulthood. The global children’s and maternity apparel market was valued at USD 400 billion (KRW 520 trillion) in 2022, yet only 5% of these clothes are recycled. Meanwhile, the global apparel recommerce market stood at USD 20 billion (KRW 26 trillion) in 2022 and is projected to grow to as much as USD 60 billion (KRW 78 trillion) by 2026.

Winning on Convenience and Trust

Retykle founder Sarah Garner built her career over a decade in the luxury fashion sector with groups such as LVMH and Richemont. While raising her child, she noticed a recurring problem: many clothes in excellent condition were being discarded simply because children quickly outgrew them. Frustrated by the lack of suitable platforms to reuse these items, she decided to create her own solution, launching Retykle in 2016.

Sarah Garner, founder of Retykle, previously held senior roles at Shanghai Tang under Richemont, DFS under LVMH, and Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford, accumulating over 10 years of experience in luxury retail.

At its core, Retykle resembles other recommerce platforms—such as Korea’s Danggeun Market, Joonggonara, or Kream—by connecting sellers of second-hand clothing with buyers and generating revenue through transaction fees. If it had stopped there, Retykle might have remained just another resale marketplace. But the company distinguished itself by layering on unique features that propelled it to the forefront of Asia’s recommerce market.

The platform’s greatest strengths are convenience and trust. Rather than focusing solely on sustainability, Retykle designed its service so that both sellers and buyers can transact in a seamless and secure environment. For sellers, the process is exceptionally simple: press a button, place items at the doorstep, and Retykle handles the rest—from collection to delivery. Unlike traditional resale platforms, where sellers often need to meet buyers in person or arrange their own shipping, Retykle removes these frictions entirely. By eliminating direct negotiations between buyers and sellers, the platform also spares users the stress of haggling over prices.

Meanwhile, strict quality control and a proprietary pricing algorithm enhance buyer confidence. Every item must first be collected and inspected before being listed, ensuring only clothing that meets Retykle’s standards enters the marketplace. This reassures customers that all products meet a consistent level of quality. In addition, Retykle applies insights from years of transaction data to set fair and accurate prices. Unlike other resale platforms where the same item may appear at wildly different prices, Retykle’s system prevents confusion and builds trust.

Retykle’s Virtual Closet, where purchased items are automatically displayed for easy resale. (Source: Retykle website)

The company has also introduced a Virtual Closet, which automatically logs purchased items into a customer’s personal account. When users decide they no longer need an item, they can quickly resell it with just a few clicks, creating a frictionless loop of purchase and resale.

Although Retykle does not overtly market itself as a sustainability brand, its user experience subtly reinforces environmental impact. Each listing displays not only the item’s price but also the corresponding carbon reduction, and members’ profiles show the cumulative emissions saved through their transactions. Customers have responded positively to these details, with reviews highlighting how the platform reassures them that by using Retykle they are doing the right thing for the environment.

DBR mini box - The Hidden Cost of Fast Fashion

Since the mid-2000s, fast fashion has transformed the industry by replicating the latest trends quickly, producing at scale, and distributing at low cost. This has created a culture where clothes are bought “easily” and discarded “rapidly.” Most fast-fashion retailers release new collections every one to two weeks, while “ultra-fast” players launch products every three to four days.

According to a 2016 McKinsey & Company report, global clothing production more than doubled—from 50 billion items in 2000 to 100 billion in 2014. Today, the volume is so high that accurate statistics are difficult to capture. Since not all items produced are sold, vast amounts of unsold inventory end up as waste.

FashionUnited, a global news and data site with over 250,000 industry subscribers, estimates that in 2022 consumers purchased around 80 billion clothing items annually. Assuming production continues to grow at similar rates, more than 30 billion pieces of clothing were left unsold in 2022. And even clothes that are sold eventually become waste: with an average life cycle of just one to two years, most fast-fashion items are discarded soon after purchase.

Encouraging Seamless Transitions Between Sellers and Buyers

Today, Retykle offers products from more than 2,500 brands, including Moncler, Dior, Ralph Lauren, and Burberry—broadening consumer choice and reinforcing customer retention. A key priority has been raising the platform’s reuse rate, which Retykle achieves by encouraging an organic transition between selling and buying.

This circular dynamic is evident in user behaviour: 65% of sellers also purchase items through Retykle, while 30% of buyers resell their clothing on the platform. As a result, what emerges is a positive feedback loop where sellers become buyers and buyers become sellers. This virtuous cycle has driven the reuse rate up from 53% in 2017 to 84% in 2023.

Importantly, reuse remained strong even after Retykle introduced significant changes to its commission structure in 2023. Previously, commission rates were uniform across all price points. The company then shifted to a tiered model, charging as much as 75% commission on high-value items. While the move benefitted Retykle financially, it risked alienating sellers. Rather than competing on lower fees, the company chose to invest in services that would justify the higher rates.

To this end, Retykle channelled resources into logistics, user interface upgrades, and algorithm development, systematically eliminating customer pain points. For example, in 2023 the company unified seller and buyer login systems, making it easier for users to switch roles seamlessly. This responsiveness prevented customer churn, attracted new users, and lifted annual online sales by 23%, with total transactions surpassing 140,000. The company plans further adjustments to its commission rates in 2024, positioning itself for continued growth as the market expands.

At the same time, Retykle has pursued strategic partnerships to acquire new customers. Its “Sell Later” service, launched at the end of 2023, has extended its influence through collaborations with online retailers such as Kinderspiel and Mili Milu in Hong Kong. Through the ‘Sell Later’ option offered at partner stores, customers can pre-commit to reselling their purchases on Retykle. Each item is automatically added to their Virtual Closet, making future resale seamless while ensuring it can be listed again at a guaranteed price. This not only enhances customer satisfaction—creating the sense of having bought the original item at a discount—but also introduces new consumers to the Retykle ecosystem, paving the way for further transactions.

In addition, by automating processes such as pricing, order management, and delivery, Retykle has strengthened its ability to fend off competition. Industry analysts note that these operational efficiencies give the company a decisive edge in sustaining growth while defending market share.

Retykle attracting new customers through partnerships with online retailers such as Kinderspiel and Mili Milu. (Source: Mili Milu, Retykle website)

Looking Ahead: The Future of Korea’s Apparel Recycling Market

According to Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the global eco-friendly textile market is projected to grow from KRW 66 trillion in 2021 to KRW 138 trillion by 2030. By contrast, Korea’s eco-friendly textile and fashion market remains relatively small at around KRW 1 trillion—just 2% of the global total. However, expectations are rising, driven by the growing influence of the MZ generation, who place strong emphasis on value-based consumption.

A 2022 survey conducted by Lotte Members found that 83% of consumers had participated in “meaning out”¹ activities, where purchases reflect personal values and beliefs. Among the MZ generation, this was particularly evident in areas such as vegan animal protection, plogging (jogging while picking up litter), and slogan fashion.

¹“Meaning Out” combines the word “meaning” (belief or conviction) with “coming out.” It refers to a consumption pattern in which individuals make purchasing decisions based on their tastes, political, economic, or social values.

Reflecting these trends, demand for sustainable apparel continues to rise. In 2023, Hyosung TNC launched Creora Bio-Based Black, a recycled spandex made entirely from industrial waste. Black Yak has produced footwear and clothing using recycled PET bottles, while Hansae is expanding eco-friendly apparel production systems in Vietnam to strengthen its foothold in the European market.

In the recommerce space, startups such as Charan, developed by Mine Is, have emerged with business models similar to Retykle. However, launched less than a year ago, Charan remains limited to facilitating basic C2C transactions and has yet to reach Retykle’s scale. Major online fashion platforms such as Musinsa are also experimenting with recycled apparel initiatives, though the market has yet to become fully active in Korea.

Meanwhile, Retykle has already proven its model in dense urban markets like Hong Kong and Singapore. Its next challenge is scaling across Asia—and beyond into the US, Australia, and the Middle East.

Particularly notable is how it has fostered a culture of clothing reuse among Chinese consumers, for whom the concept was previously unfamiliar. In 2024, Retykle is preparing to expand further, integrating online and offline channels. For example, it has partnered with retailers to offer in-store QR codes that link directly to Retykle’s Virtual Closet, allowing customers to instantly upload purchased items.

For those tracking the recommerce and sustainable fashion sectors, Retykle’s ongoing expansion into broader Asian markets as well as the US, Australia, and Dubai offers an important case study in how eco-focused platforms can scale internationally.