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Pre-Loved Island

Press Release

eBay Becomes Love Island’s First Ever Pre-Loved Fashion Partner

Today, Love Island has announced a new partnership with eBay UK, the online marketplace with a mission to change the way we shop for clothes. 

eBay UK, which has seen one pre-loved fashion sale every second so far in 2022, is the first pre-loved fashion partner to couple up with the hottest show on TV.

Giving the Love Island wardrobes a total refresh this summer, Islanders will wear pre-loved clothes this season, with a shared wardrobe situated in the new villa for the first time ever. Living the ‘eat, sleep, rewear, repeat’ mentality, viewers can expect to see Islanders showing off fits that reflect their personalities and individuality this summer, while doing their bit to extend the life cycle of clothes.

The collaboration comes after new research and data from eBay reveals that UK shoppers are becoming increasingly conscious of fast fashion. A fifth (20%) of Brits admit that they buy more second-hand fashion compared to two years ago and reveal on average, that 16% of their wardrobes are made up of pre-loved clothes. Those aged 18 to 34 have the highest average percentage of second-hand clothes in their wardrobe (22%), nearly double that of over 55s (12%).

Money-saving (54%) and protecting our planet (37%) are the biggest factors as to why people shop second-hand, with bagging some designer bargains (25%) and wanting something original (18%), also amongst the driving forces.

Last year, fans looking to replicate their favourite Islanders' looks, caused searches to soar. Last year's winner Millie proved the biggest trendsetter, as her one shoulder marble dress influenced 127% more searches for ‘marble dress’ and her linen hot pink co-ord caused 114% more searches for ‘hot pink co-ord'.

In the last year, searches for ‘preloved clothes’ have multiplied eightfold, with Gen Z in particular driving the recommerce trend, as 80% confirm that they have recently bought second-hand goods.

Jemma Tadd, Head of Fashion at eBay UK said: “We’re so excited to partner with Love Island this year and put pre-loved fashion, centrestage. The impact of Love Island and its stars across the UK is undeniable and together we want to inspire the nation to choose pre-loved first when shopping - even if this means buying or selling one or two pre-loved items to start with, it’s a step in the right direction. 

“We can’t wait to change the conversation and dress the Islanders in pre-loved outfits for the very first time.”

Mike Spencer, Executive Producer of Love Island, said: “We are thrilled to be pairing up with eBay this year as our pre-loved fashion partner. As a show we strive to be a more eco-friendly production with more focus on ways in which we can visibly show this on screen. 

“This partnership will see our Islanders get to dive into the shared wardrobes and help themselves to some incredible pre-loved clothes sourced from eBay. We aim to inspire our demographic and show that there are incredible finds to be had and how sharing is, in some small way, caring.”

eBay UK has recruited celebrity stylist and secondhand enthusiast, Amy Bannerman, to style this year’s Islanders. Amy has styled celebrities such as Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Sophie Turner, Jonathan Van Ness and Lena Dunham.

ENDS

Editor’s notes:

  • Oxfam reports 13 million items of clothing goes to UK landfill every week. 

  • As part of eBay’s ongoing efforts, it helped save over 17,770 tons of fashion items out of landfill in 2021 - the equivalent of 1,404 double decker buses. 

  • Earlier this year, as shoppers look to reduce their fashion spend and environmental footprint, eBay UK also announced the launch of its Imperfects range which offers clothes, shoes and accessories that are considered new, but with defects, from over 100 high-street and high-end designers including North Face, Off White, Puma, Fila, and Timberland at up to 60% off. 

Top 10 high-street brands with most second-hand sales in 2022 

  1. Nike
  2. Adidas
  3. Marks and Spencer
  4. Next
  5. Dr. Martens
  6. Zara
  7. River Island
  8. Joules
  9. Clarks
  10. New Look

Top 10 designer brands with most second-hand sales in 2022  

  1. Louis Vuitton
  2. Gucci
  3. Levi’s 
  4. Mulberry
  5. Stone Island
  6. Chanel
  7. The North Face
  8. Barbour
  9. Ted Baker
  10. Ralph Lauren

About Amy Bannerman

Amy started her career in fashion setting up a vintage clothing stall with a loan from the Prince’s Trust. She sourced and imported vintage clothes from Canada and sold them from her busy market stall in east London.

Most recently Amy was the Fashion Director of Cosmopolitan for four years. Here she successfully pioneered a new path for the magazine, seamlessly incorporating second hand clothes into cover shoots and fashion stories.

Within a fast fashion culture she has tirelessly promoted a more responsible, ecologically aware way of shopping and this is something she is extremely passionate about.  

Amy’s love of second hand doesn’t stop with her work, she has bought and sold on eBay for over 20 years and dresses almost exclusively in second hand and vintage. She lives in a house furnished with an eclectic mix of furniture bought predominantly from eBay and her baby son now dresses top to toe in pre-loved too. 

Amy has styled celebrities such as Jonathan Van Ness, Lena Dunham, Dua Lipa, Sophie Turner, Rita Ora, amongst many others.

Amy also previously worked at Elle and InStyle, and styled fashion stories for iD, Glamour and The Sunday Times Style.