Words by Smiley Team
M&S wants to reduce the amount of environmental impact on their clothes. Its Kidswear department has announced a a trial with the UK’s first fully circular kidswear marketplace, where parents can buy, sell, donate, and recycle outgrown kidswear – dotte.
Founded in 2020 by Louise Weiss and Samantha Valentine, dotte seeks to address the challenges parents face when buying secondhand, through a digital platform which curates products, offers style inspiration and incorporates brands partnerships. dotte was born out of genuine parental frustration, at the piles of kids clothes around the house, and no clear cut, easy solution to get rid of them
The dotte resale collective is made up of 16 independent and sustainably-minded kidswear brands – M&S Kids will become the first major retailer to join and play a role in dotte’s movement.
Joining the collective means that when a dotte user sells a pre-loved M&S item, and there are currently over 400 items listed on the site, they get an M&S voucher for £5 off when they spend £25 at M&S online. M&S is already one of the most popular brands on dotte for resale.
M&S and dotte share a commitment to finding more circular solutions which incorporate both new and pre-loved clothing. By listing an M&S item at typically 50% of the value people pay for it, users can receive the voucher which can also be used alongside the popular 3 for 2 deal.
The partnership is launching in the Easter holidays, 2022, as parents are thinking about clothes for the summer ahead – from school summer dresses for the final term to swimwear for staycations.
Alice Duggan, Head of M&S Kidswear said, “We design and make our products so that the M&S label means quality – product that can be handed down - because we believe style shouldn’t cost the earth. Pre-loved selling is a growing market and through joining the dotte resale collective we’re looking forward to learning more from an agile start up and supporting the circular economy.
"Through the platform we also hope to extend our customer reach as we continue make M&S kidswear more relevant more often for customers and the ‘go to’ destination store and website not just for uniform but for everyday style & value too.”
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Samantha Valentine, Co-Founder at dotte said, “As any parent knows, children just don’t stop growing! And all those growth spurts make kidswear one of the fastest areas of fashion, with 183 million items of kids' clothing going to landfill EVERY year in the UK alone. That’s why we set up dotte!
"We wanted to give parents a simple way to pass on their clothes to other families, and at the same time recoup some of the money they originally spent and reduce their carbon footprint all in one go! Having a trusted kidswear retailer like M&S onboard signals a huge step change in the industry itself, and the fact that they are rewarding their customers for selling M&S kidswear will encourage so many more families to get involved in the circular economy! We’re so pleased to welcome them.”
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