Two Web sites just launched in Canada are trying to give new life to old clothing.
Montreal mother of two Isabelle Doucet founded Minitrade.caafterseeing how quickly her kids grew out of their clothes. Instead ofselling the stuff or donating it to charity, she launched her Web site.
Sample of a Halloween costumeposted for sale on FashionForward.ca.
Users can sign up to use the site for free, then post their kids’ oldclothes for sale on it. They can even request that Minitrade send thema specialempty bag they can fill up with clean, laundered “lightly used to newcondition” children’s clothes that have been bought within the last twoyears.
Once a user has enough old stuff to fill that bag, they can contactMinitrade to pick up or ship the bag to Minitrade for free. Minitradethen sorts through the bag of goodies to post them on the Web site forsale. The original owners of the clothing get credits for each item oftheirssold on the site. The goal is a site where parents can basically swapthe clothes their kids outgrow for used stuff in larger sizes.
There’s also Fashion Forward, which recentlylaunched in Canada and theU.S. as an online market for buying and selling used clothing andaccessories for adults, kids and yes, even pets. Seizing on a timelyopportunity to market the new site just before Halloween,FashionForward says it also has a spot on its site devoted to buyingand selling costumes.