Hanna Andersson’s ‘Hanna Me Downs’ service lets you sell your children’s old clothes for cash or store credit

This story was written by Mary Swansburg and originally appeared on The Cool Down.

Hanna-Me-Downs is one of the first resale programs for children’s clothing. The program launched in early 2023 and allows customers to sell their pre-loved Hanna Andersson clothing for store credit or cash. 

How does the Hanna-Me-Downs program work? 

Customers begin by listing their items on the site. This process is simple — search the item by product name or the style ID on the tag, check the condition of the clothing to make sure that nothing is significantly damaged, upload photos of the clothing (which are provided by the site), and set your price. 

The Hanna Andersson site will give you a suggested price for your item, but it is up to you how much you want to list the item for. 

Once another customer buys your item, you will receive an email from Hanna Andersson with a prepaid, pre-addressed shipping label, and you just have to send the item within three days. 

If you choose to be paid in cash, you will receive 70% of the sale price, but if you choose to receive a Hanna Andersson gift card instead, you’ll receive a gift card for 125% of the sale price. 

Why should I resell my child’s old clothing? 

It’s no secret that kids grow fast, and it can be tempting to buy cheap clothing that wears out quickly. However, Hanna Andersson emphasizes making quality, sustainable clothing. 

With the Hanna-Me-Downs program, you can invest in quality clothes knowing that you can recoup some or all of the cost. The process is quick and simple, too. 

“[Giving parents] all of that data so it really only is a few clicks to list an item was really important to us,” Emily Gittins, the CEO of Archive, a resale tech company that Hanna Andersson partnered with to establish the resale store, told Forbes.

“We’re really excited to be moving into this category in the U.S.,” she added. “It makes a huge amount of sense when you think about it. Children obviously grow out of clothing, and you might have people to hand that down to organically, but if you don’t, the opportunities to come back to the brand and resell it as part of that community feel so natural.”

On top of that, it’s great for the environment. 

The fashion industry creates 20% of wastewater globally, reports Earth.org, and it takes more than 700 gallons of water to make just one T-shirt. It’s easier on the environment to create high-quality clothing that can be resold until it’s been completely worn out. 

Are there programs like Hanna-Me-Downs for adult clothing? 

Absolutely! Many brands have secondhand programs, including Levi — famous for high-quality jeans, and Patagonia, which specializes in outdoor clothing and gear. 

There are even secondhand programs for non-clothing items. Check out this article about InStyler, which will trade broken hairstyling tools for brand-new ones. 

This story was written by Mary Swansburg and originally appeared on The Cool Down.