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Size fluctuation can make it hard to shop. To help customers feel more confident in their shopping decisions, Universal Standard, known for premium basics that span from a size US size 00 to 40, is launching a size-exchange programme called ‘Fit Liberty’.
“Culture has conditioned women to think that their bodies are a temporary condition. Society has placed these impossible standards on us, and as a result, people are often shopping for their future selves that honestly may or may not come into being,” says Universal Standard co-founder and CEO Polina Veksler.
The brand also says the programme offers a sustainable alternative to fast fashion. “Fit Liberty empowers the customer to invest in premium garments that fit exceptionally well in real time without the expectation of weight fluctuation compromising style, preference, comfort, quality or finances,” Veksler says. “No more buying pieces that are too small or too big ‘just in case’; no more purchasing fast fashion because you’re afraid of investing in great clothes that might not fit in a couple of months.”
From 21 April, shoppers will be able to exchange items that they bought over the past year for a new garment in a different size. Over 400 styles will be eligible for Fit Liberty across categories including denim, workwear and athleisure — all bestsellers that are consistently restocked, meaning Universal Standard doesn’t expect to adjust or increase production for Fit Liberty specifically. The majority of old clothes will be donated to Universal Standard’s long-term partner Dress for Success, which provides clothing to women re-entering the workforce; those unfit for rewear will be sent to a circular recycling platform dedicated to upcycling pieces into new textiles, or downcycling them into other mixed-use items.
Logistically, the programme works similarly to a standard returns process, for which Universal Standard uses reverse logistics platform Happy Returns. Once the return is processed, the customer will receive their new style in a new size for free. After requesting the initial size exchange, the customer can make one more change within the 30-day return window, rather than having access to unlimited size exchanges.
The service is complementary, which Veksler says is “crucial” to the programme. “We want to make shopping easier for the customer and for Fit Liberty to be such a big benefit of shopping with us. Charging the customer would be counterintuitive to the programme’s mission, which is to eliminate the worry and financial burden of size fluctuation,” she says. The cap on allowing size exchanges for products purchased only within a year makes the programme financially feasible for the brand, but it plans to expand the return timeline as the business grows to account for longer-term size fluctuation.
Is it sustainable?
Universal Standard positions its size-exchange programme as a customer loyalty driver but says it “prioritises both the customer and sustainability”. But Fit Liberty is more akin to an extended returns period, rather than a sustainable or circular programme. Customers are still receiving new garments, for instance, rather than shopping from a marketplace of secondhand clothes that other consumers have outgrown.
While the old clothes may be converted into fabrics for new pieces or donated to those in need, Fit Liberty won’t enable Universal Standard to decrease its production volumes, though the brand says it doesn’t expect to increase production volumes, either. For Universal Standard, the priority is to foster a shopping experience that doesn’t isolate customers due to size fluctuation.
Veksler says offering customers pre-owned items in different sizes “wasn’t part of the goals of the programme, because I don’t know if that would serve the same loyalty with the customer base”. Receiving new items of clothing is a more positive shopping experience, she says. Sustainability critics might point out that this mindset demonises secondhand clothing as inferior to those that are new, which could be harmful to the wider sustainability agenda. Veksler says the aim is to encourage customers to invest in good-quality clothing “instead of buying fast fashion because they believe their size is going to change so they don’t want to invest”.
The brand also clarified that it doesn’t expect the programme to encourage overconsumption because it doesn’t anticipate its customers to use Fit Liberty often or thoughtlessly. “The programme only allows customers to exchange for a size that is smaller or bigger, so I don’t think people would make that decision unless their size has actually changed,” says Veksler.
Ultimately, clothing that no longer fits a customer can’t be worn anyway — so the exchange programme is a much better alternative to landfill, even if there’s no opportunity for them to be resold. “We’re always exploring opportunities to progress our sustainability efforts and Fit Liberty is our next iteration of this commitment,” says Veksler. “We believe the programme not only reduces waste, but it also helps us in furthering our mission of making our exceptional clothing as accessible as possible, to help people buy clothing that will last longer.”
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