French refurbished tech e-tailer Back Market is Europe’s top-ranked sustainable resale platform, according to Cross-border Commerce Europe (CCE). Three fashion resale specialists, eBay, Vestiaire Collective and H&M’s Sellpy, were among the ranking’s top-10 platforms, with Vinted in 11th place.
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The CCE ranking is based on an analysis of the various players’ CSR pledges, cross-referencing the share of their business that falls strictly in the sustainability category with a weighted audit of over 75 sector certifications (like B-Corp and Fashion Pact). Besides certifications, the CCE methodology also assessed the business models, putting a premium on circularity initiatives (like resale and repair) and the presence of alternative services such as product rental, customisation, on-demand production, etc.
Europe’s top-ranked sustainable marketplace was French refurbished tech e-tailer Back Market, ahead of Etsy (USA), OLX (the Netherlands) and Refurbed (Austria). eBay came fifth, ahead of British used photo and video equipment e-tailer MPB.
Vestiaire Collective, the French specialist in second-hand premium and luxury fashion, ranked seventh, followed by Sellpy (owned by Swedish group H&M), by British used tech specialist CeX, and by another French high-end pre-owned fashion marketplace, Collector Square. Vinted was ranked 11th.
Among the factors negatively affecting CCE’s sustainability rating are the carbon impact associated with air freight, high return rates, and a business model based on fast fashion. China-based businesses raised major ethical concerns in terms of human rights compliance, while lack of transparency on traceability was another factor negatively affecting a marketplace’s ranking.
“The re-commerce market is projected to account for 7.4% to 7.8% of the fashion and beauty industry by 2026, up from 6.9% in 2025,” stated CCE, adding that cross-border e-commerce generates 70% of the re-commerce sector’s sales volume.
In 2025, CCE said that marketplaces accounted for 74% of Europe’s online re-commerce GMV (which was up by 18%), generating a revenue of €90 billion out of a total of €121 billion.
