Green is in fashion as Vinted joins $1 billion club

Vinted, an online marketplace for second-hand clothes, has surfed a sustainable fashion wave to become Lithuania's first technology startup to reach "unicorn" status with a valuation of over $1 billion (£774.6 million).

U.S.-based venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, with participation from existing backers such as Sprints Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Accel and Burda Principal Investments.

The company, created in 2008 as one founder wanted to give away surplus clothes after moving to a new house, is growing rapidly as the fashion industry comes under growing scrutiny for fuelling a throwaway culture.

In a sign of the times, Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue and one of the most powerful voices in fashion, told Reuters the industry needed to pursue more sustainability and that fashionistas should care for their clothes and pass them on.

Vinted said nearly €1.3 billion worth of reused clothing would change hands on its platform this year.

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