Danielle Vermeer

We make choices that signal what we wish to convey.Signaling is the act of conveying information about ourselves to people in a way that is costly for us and therefore believable. Without the associated cost of sending a signal, we would not be able to trust the information being sent.

Online resale is growing 4X faster than offline.  ~$37 B (50% of total)—estimated share of online sales of secondhand fashion by 2024.  ~$28 B (43%)—offline thrift & donation (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.).

UGC is the most powerful content to acquire, but also the most painful to scale for big co's. People trust other like-minded or aspirational people, always have, always will.

Signaling and counter-signaling are hidden methods of communicating with each other. We do it all the time as a way to “prove” we are who and what we claim to be.

Customers say they want to be ethical consumers, buying vintage and upcycling on Depop. Reformation calls itself the most sustainable option other than being naked, while Eileen Fisher has pledged to use “sustainable materials” in 100 percent of its products. Yet what sustainability actually means in this context has become increasingly nebulous.