Zara is expanding its circularity initiative in the US, marking its first expansion outside Europe. The platform has launched in 16 countries, including Italy, the U.K., and France. The platform is now accessible across the US via Zara’s website, app, and physical stores. The initiative was initially announced during Inditex’s 2024 first-half earnings report.
Repair, resell, and donate are the three main services that the platform focuses on, where the repair option allows customers to fix Zara garments, from any season, covering issues such as replacing buttons and zippers or mending seams. The resell feature enables users to sell Zara items with detailed information and original product images automatically populated using the brand’s AI. Donations can be made through the platform, with clothes being reused or recycled based on their condition. In New York City, customers can also request home pick-up services for donations.
Zara partners with over 90 local organisations, including the Salvation Army in the US, to distribute donated items or finance community projects. In 2023, the brand’s donation program recovered over 20,000 tonnes of garments and footwear, with 67 per cent of the items reused or resold and the remainder repurposed for industrial use or energy recovery.
Paula Ampuero, Zara’s Head of Sustainability, highlighted the platform’s importance in promoting responsible consumption and a circular economy model. Inditex’s sustainability goals include using more eco-friendly textiles by 2030, transforming its supply chain to be environmentally focused, and aiming for net-zero emissions by 2040.
Other sustainable efforts by Inditex include investing in lab-grown cotton start-up Galy, partnering with textile recycling tech company Circ, and backing Finnish fashion tech firm Infinited Fiber Company.
