04-03-2025
WRAP Wants to Set the Industry Standard for Calculating Displacement Rates
One non-government organization (NGO) wants to help companies understand the amount of brand-new product resale and repair can displace.
Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a United Kingdom-based global environmental action NGO, has put forth a methodology for calculating the displacement rate, which it defines as, 'the rate at which acquiring (e.g. buying or renting) or repairing an item through a circular business model directly displaces the purchase of a new garment in the existing, linear system.'
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WRAP last released guideline methodology in 2012, but Key said the updated methodology supports further understanding of consumers' motivations for buying secondhand or repairing items.
The organization recommends issuing a survey to customers after their purchase or repair to understand whether that activity has offset their desire to purchase a new item. A secondary question asks about why the consumer behaved that way—and whether they are still considering purchasing a new item in addition to the return or repair.
That, Key contends, likely makes the updated methodology more accurate than the 2012 methodology.
'There's a gap between what people say they do and what they actually do, so we're trying to mitigate that as much as possible by understanding the behaviors,' she said. 'It means that we can take into account impulse purchases and also consistent secondhand shoppers—so people who would only ever buy secondhand—and a few other nuanced things.'
The ability to identify consistent secondhand shoppers Key discussed are important because, if a person never would have purchased a brand-new item, their secondhand purchase or repair has a displacement rate of zero percent.
Key said the suggested survey could help set an industry standard. Already, some key resale players, like eBay, Vestiaire Collective and Depop have tested out and signed on to the methodology.
Some of the Textiles 2030 signatories have also agreed to use the methodology; WRAP is also part of that group, which has, to date, seen a 0.2 percent decrease in collective carbon footprint, but a 10 percent increase in volume of products placed on the UK market.
The methodology can also help companies better calculate their avoided emissions. WRAP noted in its methodology report that because displacement has an indirect impact on the amount of GHG emissions a company creates, the calculated displacement rate can be used in a formula to determine the amount of emissions that company avoided.
The formula is N=E-(P x D), where N is the net avoided emissions, and E is the emissions from operations of circular activity—like transportation. P represents the emissions a brand-new product would have created, and D is the displacement rate.
Renee Martin, chief sustainability officer at eBay, said the company will use both the displacement rate methodology and the avoided emissions formula as parts of its climate and environmental strategy going forward.
'We are proud to partner with WRAP to establish a more standardized methodology for calculating avoided emissions for shopping preloved items and will continue to find ways to empower consumers to make sustainable choices every day,' Martin said in a statement.
Today, the UK has a 64.6 percent displacement rate for peer-to-peer resale, and an 82.2 percent displacement rate for clothing repair. That means three in five resale purchases displace new purchases in the UK, and four in five repairs displace new purchases.
For every pair of jeans bought secondhand online in the UK, a consumer can save 30 kilograms of CO2 emissions, which the NGO equates to the emissions created by making 600 cups of tea. And for every repaired cotton T-shirt in the UK, consumers can save more than 7.5 kilograms of CO2 emissions, equivalent to ironing for 25 hours.
WRAP does not currently have displacement statistics available for the United States market.
Key said she thinks the displacement rate is higher for repair than resale because the motivation for repair is often more sentimental than the reason behind secondhand purchasing.
'I think it's mostly due to the emotional attachment to the item. If you're making the effort to go and get something repaired so that you can reuse it, it's generally because you want to keep it,' she said. 'It's that kind of emotional attachment to a sentimental item or something you've worn lots of times and really love, compared to reselling, where it's a brand-new item to you, and you don't have that emotional attachment to it yet…so it's less of an emotional decision.'
The organization—and many of its supporters—still hopes to see the UK displacement rate increase in the coming years. To do so, though, an increased number of brands and retailers may need to join in on the resale and repair action.
Today, some brands already work with companies like Archive, ThredUp and Treet to offer branded resale programs. Repair, too, has started to make waves in the industry, with startups like Alternew striking partnerships with major brands like Faherty.
Key said seeing that trend permeate the industry more readily will see better environmental outcomes.
'The main thing, I think, will be the brands offering these [resale and repair] services, as well, because that's when you'll see, hopefully, a reduction or slowing down in virgin material and virgin product productions,' she said.
