Swedish-born brand Fjällräven is the latest label to join the resale revolution.
The heritage company, known for its commitment to sustainability since its founding in 1960, has launched Fjällräven Pre-Loved: a peer-to-peer marketplace for stateside shoppers to swap the Scandinavian subsidiary’s swag.
That platform is powered by Archive, the brand-owned recommerce company that counts global players like The North Face, Sam Edelman and Marimekko—as well as another few dozen other heavy-hitters—as clients. The Second Hand September supporter’s customizable circularity platform allows Fjällräven to give its goods a second life, of course, but also reinforces the brand’s commitment to circularity.
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“Circularity has been part of our sustainability roadmap for many years and it really starts with our product design. We work with our product team [which has] an internal tool they built to measure a product’s repairability when they’re in the design and development phase,” Kaytlin Moeller, regional sustainability manager at Fjällräven’s parent company, Fenix Outdoor, told Sourcing Journal. “So really, it’s quite intentional, the way we’re building products to fir the circular model beyond just resale.”
Considering sustainability has been core to the Kånken creator’s ethos for 60-plus years— Fjällräven’s1968 Greenland jacket was made from leftover fabrics, for reference—the move into resale wasn’t spontaneous but strategic.
“[Pre-Loved] seems like a ‘right now’ decision, but it’s something we’ve been looking at for a while,” Moeller said, noting the internal dialogue concerned logistics, like having enough product to support a program and customer reception. “[Now] felt like we hit the tipping point. We made a statement this year about challenging our customers to keep gear in use longer and double down on our commitment to continue to build durable, lasting goods—if you promise, as the user of those goods—to keep using them and not fall into the fast fashion cycle.”
That idea was put to the test when Fjällräven offered certain markets a coupon for bringing in any Fjällräven item in any condition—no limits allowed—for a “gut check” of what would people trade for $25, Moeller said—earlier this year. The goal was to see what kind of product was brought in; was it a good mix of apparel and jackets? A well-rounded representation of the brand’s offerings? Backed with minimal marketing, the “pressure test” proved successful. More than 300 items (varying in both condition and category) were traded at 11 storefronts during the month of March.
“Our commitment to sustainability is not just about minimizing our impact today, but about ensuring that our products continue to serve a purpose for generations to come; resale is a natural extension of this philosophy,” said Nathan Dopp, CEO of the Americas at Fjällräven. “By encouraging the resale of pre-loved items, we reduce waste, conserve resources and honor the craftsmanship that goes into every Fjällräven piece. It’s not just about making less—it’s about making better and making it last.”
Apropos of that is Fjällräven’s repairs program. In 2023, the outdoor equipment purveyor repaired 8,531 items—up 140 percent from 2021’s 3,556. The brand’s team of tailors is on track to exceed the number of repairs year over year as well.
“I really do see this as significant to resale,” Moeller said. “Circularity itself isn’t a funneled program; everything kind of sits in hand. We definitely think that both repair and resale are part of a well-rounded circularity strategy, but not the only parts.”
With that in mind, Archive was the best fit for the program, considering the flexibility, tech stack and interface offered by the platform “really made us feel like they were a partner we could grow with,” per Moeller.
“We’re excited to see Fjällräven take this significant step in launching their resale program. By making pre-owned products more accessible, Fjällräven is not only extending the life cycle of their durable designs but also empowering consumers to make more environmentally responsible choices,” said Emily Gittins, co-founder and CEO of Archive. “This initiative aligns perfectly with Fjällräven’s commitment to sustainability and reducing waste in the apparel industry. We’re proud to support their efforts in driving meaningful change towards a circular fashion economy.”
Fjällräven is the latest brand to partner with Archive in launching or expanding a resale initiative this year. The Advanced Clothing Solutions partner reported that half of resale customers, on average, are new to the brand. Those who engage with resale programs display “up to three times the lifetime value compared to customers shopping exclusively at full price,” Archive said. On the brand side, those using a peer-to-peer resale model see 60-plus percent of sellers opting for brand credit instead of cash—and then spend three times the amount of that credit.
“This is just the beginning of what we can do with resale; there are so many options within circularity that are very exciting and that we’ll be able to explore more further the more time we spend in this environment,” Moeller said. “We really do believe our products are built to last multiple generations, so why not enable folks who have the interest to shop used items?”
