Apparel retailer Gap (NYSE: GPS) announced on Thursday it would be partnering with used clothing reseller thredUp. Consumers can bring their secondhand garments to Gap stores in exchange for store credit, and Gap will deliver that apparel to thredUp for sale online or through one of its sales partners. Image Source: Getty Images. Secondhand clothing, once well outside of mainstream retailing's usual fare, is now becoming commonplace within the industry. Department store chains JC Penney and Macy's both now maintain thredUp shops in select stores, selling merchandise supplied by thredUp. Nordstrom, meanwhile, has established a secondhand clothing venue called See You Tomorrow that operates online with one brick and mortar locale in New York. The partnerships reflect the convergence of two trends, one of which is consumer efforts to get more from their wardrobe budgets. The other is greater interest protecting the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15% of textiles were recycled in 2017, with more than 11 million tons of textiles ending up in the nation's landfill last year. Used clothing, however, isn't just a public service. It's also big business, with thredUp suggesting this sliver of the apparel market alone was worth $28 billion in 2019. The company expects to it to grow to more than a $50 million market by 2023. ThredUp has similarly partnered with other consumer-facing companies, but Gap will be its biggest partner yet when its so-called Clean Out bags and labels are available at stores beginning in April. 10 stocks we like better than GapWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Gap wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Nordstrom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source