Marks & Spencer has launched its first dedicated resale shop on eBay, extending a clothing take-back scheme that has collected 36.5 million garments since 2008 into a fully fledged online marketplace.

From today, customers can complete a brief form on the retailer’s website or scan in-store QR codes to send pre-loved M&S items to Reskinned, a specialist that cleans, repairs and processes stock for the new M&S x eBay store. Each parcel containing at least one M&S-labelled product unlocks a £5 voucher towards a £35 spend on fashion, home or beauty at M&S.com, valid for four weeks.

Katharine Beacham, head of sustainability in fashion at M&S, said the retailer had already “shifted the way people looked at clothes” through its long-running in-store “shwopping” bins. “We wanted to revamp shopping to continue to improve how customers look at clothing and how they can give clothes another life,” she added.

The partnership with eBay allows M&S to test customer appetite for branded secondhand goods on a platform where the label is among the most searched. Items that can be re-worn appear on eBay after professional refurbishment, while irreparable pieces are either repurposed or recycled. Oxfam, M&S’s charity partner since the scheme began, will receive 15 per cent of profits from every eBay sale and will continue selling donations that do not make the online cut in its own shops.

Monique Leewenburgh, director of sourcing and technology in fashion, home and beauty at M&S, called the move “an opportunity for customers to purchase items they might have missed from previous seasons – which are pre-loved”. She added that the collaboration “supports customers to do the right thing and plays our part in reducing textile waste”.

Online clothes resale is surging across the sector, with the continued rise of platforms such as Depop and Vinted. M&S said it will gauge the performance of its eBay storefront before deciding whether to offer secondhand stock through its own digital or physical outlets.

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