With the ‘pre-loved’ movement quickly emerging as one of the hottest retail trends, Cress successfully launched last month – just as the number of people buying second-hand and pre-loved items shot up by 23%.As an entrepreneur – and a father – Carl Morris spotted a gap in the pre-loved market last year while shopping for his own children’s clothes, identifying a cultural shift and an opportunity to offer something new, specifically for parents who spend an average of £43.88 per child on clothing each month.
The bespoke re-commerce platform has been designed to make shopping and selling pre-loved children’s clothing fun and accessible. Supported by digital agency, Serotonin, the site is aimed at parents looking to save money amidst the cost of living crisis and those keen to make a positive impact on the planet.
Six hundred parents signed up to Cress to participate in the early test stage last month and now it’s officially available to parents across the UK. The platform will also roll out in Australia this summer.
Co-founder Morris comments: “Cress has a clear edge in what is already becoming a highly competitive market. It’s driven by our own experiences as busy parents and our mission is to build a community with a shared vision for the future.
“Whichever way you look at it, fast fashion comes with a financial and environmental cost. But babies and children in particular grow up fast and they need multiple outfits for different purposes – from school, sport, fancy dress and occasion wear.
“This leads to astronomical waste – £4.2 billion is spent on children’s clothes each year with more than 183m pieces going into landfill. We need to come together to break the cycle and bit by bit, Cress will work with parents to peel back the layers of the problem, making it as easy as possible for them to re-home and re-love quality items of clothing.”
