My toddler began walking at the end of May, an exciting milestone that we quickly learnt can come with a hefty price tag! We were advised to have her feet checked every 8 - 10 weeks and, sure enough, she's already almost at the end of her first pair of shoes.

Clarks have acknowledged that kids often outgrow their shoes whilst they are still in good condition. So they are partnering with resale collective Dotte and actively encouraging the resale or donation of their products by offering a 15% discount on a new pair, once sold on Dotte!  

It's great to see retailers taking active steps to promote the re-circulation of products once their first owner is finished with them. It's particularly interesting to see this from a key player in an area such as children's footwear, a particularly fast area of fashion by necessity - those feet just keep on growing! 

It points to the growing trend of retailers actively engaging with issues of sustainability, as younger generations consciously shop at stores visibly responding to the growing concern for the environment. And whilst it's no longer unusual to find stores advertising the use of sustainable materials in their products, it's a larger step to actively encourage resale rather than purchasing one of their shiny new products, and a step that more and more retailers are taking. My colleague Laura has recently commented on that trend here.

It will be interesting to see how successful this partnership is, and whether Clarks competitors follow suit. I imagine there are a lot of parents out there that would happily snap up a pair of barely worn second hand shoes for their little cruiser!