H&M launches Sellpy to double down sustainability effort

A Swedish secondhand online shop owned mostly by H&M, Sellpy, announced that it is opening in 20 more European countries to fulfill the growing demand for sustainable fashion. The expansion will bring the total number of its markets to 24 since its debut in Sweden back in 2014.

"Every garment bought pre-owned saves resources for our planet. Demand in our new markets is growing rapidly," Head of Expansion Gustav Wessman said. The start-up firm handles not only the selling and shipping process, but also picking up and photographing the goods.

As a major investor of Sellpy, H&M invested more than 20 million euros in this project.

Earlier this year, Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year old worker at H&M factory supplier Natchi Apparel, was murdered by her supervisor, Thangadurai. Her fellow workers testified that Kathiravel has been subjected to gender-based violence by her supervisor in the workplace. In response to the demand to not terminate the business contract and instead to actively working to strengthen workplace safety, H&M decided to conduct third-party investigation into the case.