As a purveyor of some of the worlds most desirable brands, Threads has always strived to find ways to weave these brands into the ethos of our own Threads DNA. What is important to Threads and how we tell these stories through our own filter is not always an easy thing to do.
Sustainability is an area that we work hard on to better ourselves, whether it be through our packaging, our communication and more recently through our collaboration with AirRobe. The introduction of an integrated circular fashion platform to New Zealand and keeping fashion out of the landfill is perfectly aligned to our Threads values.
Our team has worked closely with the AirRobe Australia crew to ensure a seamless integration into the Threads shopping experience as well as provide the educational tools for our customers regarding circular fashion and the current effect our industry has on the planet.
AirRobe General Manager and Head of Partnerships Beth Glancey spoke with us about all things AirRobe, their plans for the future and as a Threads customer how you can use the platform.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and when you joined AirRobe?
I’m Beth, the GM of AirRobe and am responsible for driving the success here in Australia and New Zealand. I joined earlier this year, in January 2022 after a 15-year long career in retail. I’ve spent the last 8 years at LVMH, having the privilege of running some of the biggest and most loved beauty brands in the world including Benefit Cosmetics and most recently Sephora! Fun fact, I actually opened the first Sephora store in Auckland in 2019 - it was the biggest Day One opening crowd in Sephora ANZ history! I joined AirRobe because I wanted to do something REALLY different, I fell in love with the AirRobe mission and was excited to be joining a rocket ship with a mission to improve the world. Now I get to work on a business that I love, at the intersection of fashion, retail and tech, that's working towards doing something positive for the planet. How lucky am I!
AirRobe is a fast growing brand, talk us through a day in the life of the AirRobe General Manager.
WOW! Fast is an understatement! AirRobe keeps me very busy. When you work at early stage technology companies like AirRobe you wear many many hats. The work is incredibly fast, motivating, challenging and rewarding. I spend most of my days talking to incredible brands - both existing partners and new potential ones. I seek to learn their challenges, what and how they’re thinking about circulatory and how we can help. Most of my days start with calls in the USA - our Founder and CCO are based in San Francisco and New York so I start early to catch the East Coast timezone. From there I work with product, engineering and marketing to continually improve on our technology offering, build on our value proposition, strategise how to build our loved conscious community and of course lead and coach an incredible team - which is worth mentioning, are some of the smartest and tenacious people I've ever had the pleasure of working alongside.
AirRobe is leading the circular fashion economy here in New Zealand and Australia, tell us a little bit about AirRobe and why it is important that the Fashion industry embrace circular fashion?
The fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world and contributes 10% of the worlds total CO2 emissions. 85% of all clothing ends up in landfill, and the statistics show we’re buying more and wearing less. The only way the fashion industry and the planet can thrive together is if we move from a linear model to a circular one. We need to use regenerative materials in production, make better lasting items that are repairable and maintain their value in the secondary market. We need to commit to re-using what is already in existence.
AirRobe connects brands and customers to the circular fashion economy with a one click technology. We believe if we can make re-commerce easy - that customers and brands will readily adopt the practices, change their habits from a linear consumption to a circular one, and collectively we can expedite the movement towards scalable impact.
Threads is excited to partner with AirRobe to launch in New Zealand, can you tell us about how our customers can use AirRobe on Threads.
AirRobe offers customers the opportunity to create a digital wardrobe when they shop with you so they can save their purchases and product information to their own account for a later date. When your customers are shopping with you on Threads, or any of our partner sites, they will be invited to "Add to AirRobe". By doing so they will save that item and the images to their very own digital wardrobe ie The Circular Wardrobe. The product pictures, description, size, material and estimated re-sale value will all be saved so that once they’ve worn and loved the item, they can resell on the AirRobe marketplace - in one easy click! Genius right.
What items can our customers consider listing?
Everything- well almost everything, we allow most fashion items over $100 RRP! We encourage you to add all your purchases to AirRobe. However you'll start to notice, higher quality, better made garments will retain a higher value in the second hand market. We encourage you to think about this when you make your next purchase. We encourage you to invest in considered pieces you really love - that you know are timeless, made well and will ultimately be wanted by someone else at some stage in the future. Then once you've worn and loved them, you can give that item a new life and home through the AirRobe marketplace.
How does AirRobe estimate the resell value on items?
As part of the shopping journey on Threads, a customer will be able to discover the estimate resale value at the point of purchase. This helps educate customers on the future value of their purchase and gets them thinking abut circulairty upfront instead of it being an after thought. Our proprietary pricing algorithm is complicated and constantly improving! However simplistically we estimate the value based on 4 main things: (1) supply and demand of that product in the marketplace today, (2) the brand (3) the material and (4) the product category.
What is the customer experience our Threads customers can expect by using AirRobe?
Once a customer adds an item to their Circular Wardrobe via Threads, they then have the ability to list that item to resell, rent or recycle on the AirRobe marketplace at any time. From there, AirRobe manages all liability, insurance, customer service, payments, authenticity and disputes. We have a 24/7 customer service team to ensure all listings are approved and authenticated, and all transactions go smoothly. If there are any hiccups, AirRobe intervenes and ensures the protection of the buyer or seller through our insurance policies. Finally we have a peer to peer rating system that ensures transparency and accountability on the marketplace. Its important we build a trusted conscious community and want our customers to have amazing experiences time and time again.
Where to next for AirRobe? What is the future vision for the brand?
AirRobe’s mission is to power a better world through circular economies. I cant say too much… but I can say we wont stop at fashion! Watch out world!
