Vinted arrived in Ireland in late 2024 and has since changed the way we buy. Vinted is a popular networked online marketplace that enables users to buy, sell, and trade pre-owned second-hand items. Vinted primarily features clothing but also offers home goods, accessories, and even technology. Founded in 2008 by Lithuanian entrepreneurs Milda Mitkuté and Justas Janauskas, Vinted has become Europe’s largest online marketplace for second-hand fashion, surpassing eBay and Depop with 45 million members worldwide. Vinted is available in 26 countries worldwide and recently launched in Estonia, Latvia, and Slovenia.
In 2023, Vinted said the fashion industry is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 2-8 percent. Every second, the equivalent of one rubbish lorry full of clothes is burned or dumped. That is about 40 lorries full of clothes dumped since you started reading this article. Vinted has changed members’ shopping habits for the better, making buying more sustainable. According to Vinted’s impact report, 88 percent of buyers check Vinted before buying a new item. In 2025, members avoided 1,607 kilotonnes of C02e by shopping second-hand on Vinted rather than buying from fast fashion, which is the equivalent of driving around the Earth 164,000 times! This shows that these small decisions not only save you money but also make a huge difference for the environment.
In 2023, Vinted estimated that uploading a photo of your item, along with a description and price, can extend its lifespan by nine months, reducing carbon footprints by around 20 to 30 percent.
In the last couple of years, second-hand and vintage clothing have become increasingly popular among young people. Whereas it may once have been deemed embarrassing to buy second-hand clothing, it is now a preferred option for young people. Vinted recently paired with UK actress and style icon Alexa Chung; this collaboration links the fashion world with pre-owned clothes and de-influences fast fashion.
I asked 20-year-old Hannah, who buys second-hand clothing primarily, “Why do you like Vinted?”
“Vinted is an easy way to find cheap and unique pieces of clothing. Unlike fast fashion brands such as Zara and Stradivarius that sell hundreds of the same product. Vinted allows me to find a one-of-a-kind piece that is usually much better quality than the cheaply made ones that are found in stores.”
Hannah said Vinted is more of a style choice that lets her stand out from the majority of people wearing the latest “Striped Zara Jeans.” Vinted’s easy-to-use buy-and-sell marketplace has created a circular selling model focused on sustainability and affordability. Every day, Vinted moves closer to its mission statement: “To make second-hand the first choice.”
