Running an online recycling business is highly labor-intensive as it requires human intervention to sort, price, label and list each second-hand item. Swag Kicks, one of Pakistan’s largest online recycling companies, overcame this hurdle by developing tools that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the process.
The company’s CEO and co-founder, Nofal Khan, believes AI can help the industry become truly green.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
What was the problem you were trying to solve?
We initially identified a pressing local issue of limited availability of affordable, high-quality sneakers for Pakistani youth. Millennials and Gen Z were aware of global fashion trends through social media but lacked access to these products. To bridge this gap, we offer sneakers and streetwear from global brands at a fraction of the cost. This democratized access to fashion and gave second life to pre-owned sneakers and apparel, preventing them from ending up in landfills.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when starting your company?
As the business expanded, they faced the challenge of effectively managing their pre-owned fashion inventory. Each product required individual inspection to be sorted, graded and photographed. Manual pricing often resulted in prices being too low, resulting in missed revenue opportunities.
With no existing technology solutions to scale our online recycling business, we developed a proprietary technology called ThriftOps that uses AI and machine learning to efficiently automate operations. ThriftOps automates critical and labor-intensive processes specific to the recycling industry.
Has your industry been inaccurately portrayed in the media?
Although thrifting is generally perceived as environmentally friendly, the reality is far from ideal. The thrifting life cycle begins with an individual donating clothing to a charity. Only a small portion is sold at the local charity’s storefront, while the rest is shipped in containers to countries such as Pakistan, where it is hand-sorted and graded before being sent back to markets in North America, Europe, Latin America and Africa. This long-distance travel results in large amounts of carbon emissions, which goes against the sustainability ethos of thrifting.
