Festival fashion waste is out of control, but Raveival makes it easy to change that.
As festival season reaches its peak, a new platform is transforming how music lovers approach their wardrobe choices. Raveival, a San Francisco-based startup, is bridging the gap between vibrant self-expression and environmental responsibility by creating a dedicated marketplace for secondhand rave and festival fashion.
Founded by Jack Miller, a raver turned eco-entrepreneur, the platform aims to combat the staggering waste generated by single-use festival outfits while fostering a community centered on sustainability and creativity.
The Problem With Single-Use Festival Fashion
Festival culture thrives on individuality, but the environmental cost of constantly purchasing new outfits has become impossible to ignore. Miller, who holds a master’s degree in environmental science, noticed this firsthand while attending events.
“People want to wear fun, funky, and expressive outfits for these special events, but they also want to constantly change their look,” said, Jack Miller.
This demand for novelty has driven many toward fast fashion—cheap, low-quality pieces often worn once and discarded.
The numbers are staggering: An estimated 27 million brand-new festival outfits are purchased each season in the U.S. alone, with one-third of buyers admitting they’d never re-wear their purchases.
“People want to wear something new and exciting to every event, but that means a lot of outfits are only worn once,” Jack Miller said, emphasizing that the fashion industry’s reliance on resource-intensive production—like the 700 gallons of water needed to make a single cotton T-shirt—is accelerating climate change.
Raveival’s Solution: Buy, Sell, Slay—Sustainably
Raveival’s platform offers a simple yet powerful alternative. Users can buy or sell pre-loved festival wear, from holographic crop tops to platform boots, creating a circular economy for party attire. Unlike generic resale sites, Raveival focuses exclusively on rave and festival fashion, ensuring that every item fits the community’s unique aesthetic demands. The platform is described as “all partywear, all the time: strappy bodysuits, holographic crop tops, sexy leg wraps, platform boots and a lot of mesh,” according to The San Francisco Standard.
The platform combines Raveival’s own inventory (sourced from Miller’s personal stash and donations) with listings from third-party sellers, as described by The San Francisco Standard. Features like Purchase Protection and Return Assurance give buyers confidence, ensuring purchases are backed by guarantees and flexible return options. Meanwhile, tools like reRave it allow sellers to quickly relist items directly from their order history, making the resale process seamless and accessible to the community.
Building a Community, Not Just a Marketplace
Raveival’s vision goes beyond transactions. The platform also serves as a hub for music lovers to share styling tips, discuss sustainability, and connect over shared values. Miller recently hosted a clothing swap in San Francisco’s Dolores Park, complete with flow dancers and light shows, to build this sense of community.
“It was a whole spectacle,” Miller said, adding that events like these divert pounds of clothing from landfills while strengthening ties within the rave scene. The initiative reflects the rave community’s core principles: peace, love, unity, respect, and responsibility, encouraging participants to make more conscious choices together.
Tariffs and the Shift Toward Secondhand
Raveival’s rise comes at a pivotal moment for the fashion industry. The U.S. government’s 145% tariff on Chinese imports—and the elimination of the de minimis exemption for packages under $800—has made fast fashion from companies like Shein and Temu significantly more expensive. Miller believes this will accelerate the shift toward resale.
Other San Francisco-based startups, like Hero Stuff and Racct, are also capitalizing on the circular economy trend.
Joshua Voydik of Hero Stuff sees the tariffs as an opportunity: “It puts us in an interesting position to help people make extra money and move their stuff,” Voydik said.
A Model for the Future of Fashion
Raveival’s rapid growth and post-festival traffic spikes show a broader change in consumer behavior. Gen Z and millennials increasingly prioritize sustainability, with 62% preferring to buy from eco-conscious brands.
With plans to expand its events and partnerships, Raveival isn’t just redefining festival fashion—it’s showing that sustainability and self-expression can go hand in hand.
