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Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2020 29 F ully aware of the outsized environmental impacts of the fashion industry, Toad&Co wanted a way to reduce its impact on the planet. By teaming up with thredUP, an online resale marketplace for higher-end sec- ondhand clothes, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based outdoor lifestyle brand is able to extend the life of clothing and contribute to a circular economy. Through the partnership, custom- ers can order a Toad&Co x thredUP Clean Out Kit, fill it up with their used clothing (from any brand) and mail it in to thredUp, turning their gently used clothes into Toad&Co shopping credit. The program represents an important next step for Toad&Co as its work to embrace a more circular business model, said the brand. Previous ac- tions include partnering with the Re- newal Workshop and shipping product in reusable shipping packages. During the past 10 years, thredUP has been building a marketplace and infrastructure that has empowered millions of consumers to embrace secondhand. thredUP’s resale engine can price, photograph and distribute billions of unique SKUs with efficiency, said the company. Its partnerships have tripled between 2018 and 2019 as retailers seek out new ways to drive revenue, grow awareness, in- crease customer loyalty and commit to circularity. Toad&Co’s launch with thredUP is part of the resale compa- ny’s Resale-as-a-Service platform. According to Toad&Co, until now, most thredUP partner brands come from the fashion and luxury markets. All told, the secondhand market is ex- pected to reach $64 billion in the next five years. W ith the introduction of an exclusive Augment- ed Reality Sunglass experience, shoppers can now “try out” Bol- lé’s flagship Phantom lens technology without having to physically touch the glasses, said the company. Partnering with QReal and M7 In- novations, Bollé’s AR experience is a first for the sunglass industry. Within Instagram, the demonstration invites users to try out Bollé’s Phantom lens through Chronoshield sunglasses, one of the brand’s iconic models. Af- ter seeing the glasses on their face, users simply flip their camera from selfie-view to front-facing and Phan- tom lenses are superimposed on their actual view. Users then introduce sun- glass effects such as high contrast, anti-fog and light-adaptive into their real surroundings to see Phantom lenses in action. Once users select a lens that suits their style and needs, they can search for a retailer that carries Bollé. “AR is routinely used for try-on and certainly enhances the buying experience. But AR for try-out, this is a first,” said Louis Cisti, vice president of global marketing for Bollé Brands. “In the new normal of retail, Bollé recognizes that safety is now the most important thing. Con- sumers demand shopping encounters that minimize physical interaction. However, when it comes to buying premium sunglasses, they still have high expectations and expect to see tangible benefits. Bollé’s AR try- out does all that heavy lifting. Shoppers get to see perceivable perfor- mance benefits before making a purchase.” Using AR, shoppers can experience several Bollé lens features that demonstrate Phan- tom’s compatibility with spring skiing, cycling, and running, including Light Adaptive Technol- ogy, Platinum Anti-Fog Treatment and High Contrast. To try-out Phantom Lenses using the AR experience, users can scan a QR code that will be included in Bollé marketing materials. Toad&Co Gets Circular with thredUp Bollé Launches Contactless Sunglass Experience Brand Watch