But charity retail welcomes the move

Asda’s announcement that it is to sell second-hand clothes in its supermarkets has been welcomed by the charity Retail Association (CRA).  

The retailer said the concept had already been successfully tried out at a store in Leeds, and it now plans to stock the used garments more widely.

For the venture, the George at Asda brand has joined forces with specialist wholesaler Preloved Vintage Kilo.

The move comes after Asda launched a scheme encouraging customers to take unwanted clothes back to stores.

Asda said the latest scheme would "give a new lease of life" to pre-worn garments.

It would enable customers to "buy vintage, retro and second-hand branded pieces, preventing thousands of tonnes of garments going to landfill each year".

Retailing under the PVW (Preloved Vintage Wholesale) brand name, the second-hand clothes will be available in stores in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Brighton, among others.

Robin Osterley, chief executive of the CRA, said: “Any move that increases awareness of the need to make clothing more sustainable and last longer is all right by us, as is any move that helps drive down textile waste.

“And of course it’s great that Asda appears to be moving away from its fast-fashion orientated direction of travel.”

He added: “Of course, shopping in a charity shop is a very different experience to shopping in a supermarket – the personal interaction, the variety on offer, the excitement of finding a fantastic bargain from donated goods and the knowledge that your hard-earned pounds are being spent on a good cause are amongst the many things that make charity shopping unique.”

Preloved Vintage managing director Steve Lynam said the company had prevented more than 800 tonnes of clothing ending up in landfill and that linking with Asda would increase that "dramatically".

"In a world where we are becoming more environmentally conscious this partnership will help bring sustainable fashion to the mainstream which is something as a business we strive for in everything we do.

"The more people that buy into the circular economy and shop vintage & retro the bigger impact we will have on climate change."

Several companies take back second-hand clothes, including Asda, Primark and M&S, which have recycling scheme which allow customers to return used items in stores.