A new offering has hatched out at Birdsnest.
The Cooma-based women's fashion company Birdsnest is helping combat the impact of clothing ending up in landfill by launching Rehatched, a secondhand clothing program for its designs.
Birdsnest Rehatched is an online collection of "like-new" Birdsnest pieces that have been contributed by its customers.
Of course, thrifting is not a new concept, but it is rare to find a clothing business that offers a one-stop shop for both new and secondhand clothing.
"We love being a woman's wardrobe 'wingbird' - we call ourselves. We like to think of ourselves as cupid, as the matchmaker between a girl and her perfect outfit," founder Jane Cay said.
"And we know that how that outfit looks and how she sources that outfit into the future is going to look a little bit different. She might rent it, she might buy it, she might buy it secondhand, and how can we be a partner in all of that?
"And I think the first step seemed the most logical in terms of, where can we make the biggest difference, and that was thrifting."
For Ms Cay, thrifting was not her go-to shopping method before Rehatched. And while she said others, such as her daughter, would go shopping secondhand before buying something new, she always found the process quite daunting.
With that in mind, she knew she wanted to make the Rehatched experience as attractive for the consumer as possible.
"We love to make the retail experience a nurturing one," Ms Cay said.
"And why can't it be a first-class experience, even when you're buying secondhand clothing?
"We wanted it to be the same experience, whether it's secondhand or new, so if you want to filter it by whether it's breastfeeding friendly, for example - not just the size - we've got all those filters available, not only on your new items but also on our secondhand items as well."
The Rehatched range consists of garments in very good to excellent condition that have been carefully checked by the Birdsnest team.
On the flip side, customers are encouraged to get involved and contribute pre-loved Birdsnest items via prepaid returns postage, in return for a small credit to shop new or preloved or to donate to a woman in need. To date, donations have been directed to victims of the Northern Rivers floods.
For items that have been altered in any way - for example, a pair of pants that have been hemmed - they go through the same process, except rather than being placed online for sale, they get donated to one of Birdsnest's in-person secondhand markets that happen throughout the year.
"When you're buying our secondhand items online, it will go back on a product page that describes the pant - for example - that was initially produced," Ms Cay said.
"It will say the length is this and so if the length is different to that, we then put it into our physical markets, because that person can try it on and make sure that they're happy with it before they buy it.
"We can do that in an offline environment and manage that one off."
The next physical market is on February 25 from 8am to 1pm at Birdsnest, where 50 per cent of sales will be donated to the School For Life Foundation. For more information go to birdsnest.com.au.
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