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French startup Youzd is a Vinted for furniture that handles delivery, for hassle-free secondhand shopping

Clothing resale is booming and giving fast fashion a run for its money as conscious shoppers shift to secondhand. Much of that rapid growth is propelled by how frictionless apps have made the process of searching and buying, and shipping and selling. But while shirts and shoes might be easy to send, that isn't the case for furniture.

As a secondhand platform for furniture, appliances and other home goods, Paris-based Youzd is aiming to fix that problem by partnering with delivery services that handle transportation for transparent fees. Purchases arrive within a two-hour delivery window, and buyers can even order items from several different sellers and have them shipped in one go. Youzd takes EUR 1 of each sale plus 10% of the selling price, as well as a cut of the delivery fee.

In addition to taking the hassle out of delivery, Youzd also wants to take the anxiety out of buying used appliances. As of last month, it offers a one-year service warranty for EUR 14.90.

The startup, which launched last year, is targeting urban consumers who are eager to buy secondhand, but don't have access to a car or van. Delivery is currently available within Paris and its immediate surroundings, with Youzd planning to expand to other cities later this year.

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Much like fast fashion, cheap and mass-produced furniture has lead to an alarming rise in waste. Worldwide figures are hard to come by, but the EPA reports that in the US, 11 million metric tonnes of furniture and furnishings landed up in municipal waste streams in 2018, up from 2 million tonnes in 1960.

A 2017 report by the European Environmental Bureau states that 10 million tonnes of furniture are discarded by businesses and consumers in EU countries each year.

And a 2019 UK survey found that 30% of respondents had thrown out furniture, electrical items and homewares that were in good enough condition that they could have been reused, sold or donated.

To ease this massive burden on the environment, consumers will need to shift from buying and disposing to reducing and reusing. How can your brand join innovators like Youzd in facilitating that shift by making reuse as appealing and easy as buying new?

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