Founders make it easy to turn your unwanted clothing into cash with new app: 'We recognize there's a synergistic exchange'

Anyone who has ever tried to sell their belongings on a secondhand marketplace understands it can be a lengthy process. Sooner or later, you'll need to compare how much your time is worth compared to how much the item is worth. This forces a lot of frustrated sellers to discard their items, adding to the clothing piles in the landfill.

Pinstripe founders Sam Blumenthal and Taro Tomiya realized there was an opportunity to reduce the stress of selling. The app makes it so everyday people can have both a digital store and a physical storefront by utilizing excess space in local secondhand stores and pop-up events.

"The pain point we really identified was it's easy to shop secondhand, but it's really hard to sell," Blumenthal shared with TechCrunch. "The reason that we have landfills that you can see from outer space, that 82 pounds of clothing are thrown away per person in America a year, is because it's much easier to throw something out than it is to sell or donate it."

Extending the life cycle of clothing is crucial for the planet as the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon pollution, according to Earth.org. The damage of producing one cotton shirt is the same as driving a car for 35 miles, and fabric requires 200 times its weight in water to dye, among many other issues, according to CNN.

Pinstripe frees the sellers from one-on-one meetups and shipping and frees the consumers from the restriction of not being able to try on the clothing before purchase. Sellers also have the option to have the clothing donated if it does not sell after 30 days.

The seller receives 70% of the sales, while the app takes 20% and the storefront takes 10%. While that might seem low for the storefront, the feedback received so far is that it is worth it for the extra foot traffic and marketing.

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"What we do is we connect people with too much clothing and stores with too much space. We recognize there's a synergistic exchange, but what the stores want is more traffic and more profit, and what the influencers want is a way to monetize their wardrobe and the way to get rid of it instantly," Blumenthal noted.

Pinstripe also lists nearby shopping opportunities, which range from shopping an influencer's closet to limited-time sales. The app is only available in New York City, but it has plans to expand with its VC funding.

Considering the secondhand shopping industry is expected to grow to be twice as big as the fast fashion industry by 2029, it's apparent that secondhand items are for everyone — not just the bargain hunters.

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics?

Giving me money back

Letting me trade for new stuff

Making it as easy as possible

Keeping my stuff out of landfills

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Pinstripe is for those who express themselves through their clothing. For those who love the journey of finding new stores and new clothes. For the tastemakers, the fashionistas, the casuals, the hypebeasts, the group chat experts," Pinstripe shares on its website.