Anuradha Balasubramanian, Director & Head, Poshmark Online Marketplace, India

Anuradha joined Poshmark in October 2020 as a General Manager to launch Poshmark in India. As the country head, Anuradha is responsible for leading the launch and growth of the business and manages teams that span customer success, community development, marketing, logistics and operations. Anuradha has nearly 18 years of leadership experience across the consumer, e-commerce, and ed-tech sectors, where she has helped build diverse, innovative programs to drive growth. In 2012, she co-founded and launched a natural line of skin and hair care products in India and brings a vast understanding of India’s growing consumer market to Poshmark. Having lived and worked across geographies in India, she brings a deep and passionate understanding of the multicultural and diverse Indian community.

 

In the last few decades, we’ve observed fashion trends changing more and more rapidly. With microtrends cycling so quickly, consumers are purchasing, wearing, and discarding their clothes more than ever. The fast fashion business model relies on consumers endlessly buying new clothes. As a result, the industry has earned the notorious reputation of being one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions. As per a report by the UN Environment Program, the fashion industry accounts for 10 percent of all carbon emissions, making it the second largest contributor after fossil fuels.

Despite the fashion industry’s oversized contribution to carbon emissions, we can find optimism in evolving consumer shopping behaviors. Sustainable fashion has seen increased traction over the past couple of years, driven by Gen Z and Millennials who keep environmental impact and ethical production in mind while making their purchasing decisions. As per a study by YouGov, a consumer and data insights consultancy, more than 8 in 10 Indian consumers are today open to buying sustainable fashion. Well-known brands like Woodland, FabIndia and Indian Terrain have been quick to respond to changing customer preferences. This consumer shift has also given rise to a new wave of start-ups, including resale platforms, that cater to the sustainable fashion segment.

A key tenet of sustainable fashion is embracing circular consumption. Circular consumption extends the life cycle of clothing by keeping items in circulation and out of landfills. Keeping clothing in circulation has great benefits for the environment. As per data shared by UK-based charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation, doubling the usage of clothing through circular consumption can reduce carbon emissions by 44 percent and go a long way towards elimination of waste.

Extending the life of pre-loved clothing is not a new concept in India. Behaviors like passing down clothes from older to younger siblings and donating clothing items to charity are part of our tradition. However, people today are realizing even more value in participating in secondhand buying and selling. New technologies, including social marketplaces such as Poshmark, give consumers the tools to make money while extending the lifespan of their clothing. Some sellers even turn their passion for resale into a full-blown business, sourcing and reselling pre-loved items to earn an income and support their family.

India has always been a value conscious market, and recommerce is of course an excellent way to find new styles at an affordable price. But today the promise of recommerce and sustainable fashion is even greater. All generations, led by younger consumers, are growing increasingly aware of the costs of fast fashion and want to do their part to promote a more sustainable way to shop. Pre-loved fashion is quickly gaining acceptance. New business models, like that of Poshmark, encourage the long-term use of clothing by encouraging the circulation of pre-loved goods. Shifting consumer attitudes to embrace pre-loved clothing is an opportunity for us in India to participate in a more sustainable fashion system.

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