I’m participating in Secondhand September this year again – and raise awareness of buying second had items as a first choice.
We have already, on this planet, created as much stuff that it could serve generations to come. Especially clothing items. Not long ago the trend used to change in every four years or less, now all the fast fashion brands are coming out as many as 12-24 collections in a season.
There is already so much clothing produced, that it could serve us for 60 years – in case ShittyLittleThigns stopped producing their crap items miraculously. Apparently, we spend £32.5 billion on clothes and shoes in the UK every year, that’s 1.72 million tonnes of brand-new fashion – 1.5 million of which goes to landfill. They don’t even reach the charity shops. Even if they did, there’s not enough charity shops to keep these in circulation. Astounding numbers. And I don’t even want to imagine how much raw material (lots of these are petrochemicals so it has a big carbon footprint too) got used for them and how unethically are they made.
Ethical consumption means that you choose only what you need, what has been paid for fairly, what has been made to last, and what has been produced sustainably without hurting people, animals or the earth. But it’s also equally important that we keep using all things that are already made, keep them in circulation until they can be used. (Read more about circular economy in my article here.)
This is why we all need to put different glasses on and view buying second hand rather as the NORM. In the last few years we’ve forgotten how abnormal it is to wear new clothes every week. That’s causing a massive environmental issue.
Here’s a little teaser: my latest charity shop finds:
So if you want the change, but not sure how to go about it, here’s a few tips:
- You don’t need to unfollow your favourite fashion influencers (although they are part of this problem) but try to find ones that promote sustainable fashion and sustainable consumption, Instagram is fantastic place if you find the right people to follow: astridIwantyouinmylife, ajabarber, igotitfromthecharityshop, shannydoots
- Unsubscribe fashion retailer’s emails. This will reduce the amount of targeted adverts you see. If you don’t know about a new range, you won’t want it.
- See for yourself how much money you can save by buying second hand! It’s a lot of money!
- If you don’t have good charity shops around you, try online! I find Ebay and Depop great for clothes but there must be other ones I’m sure
- Think about you finding your own style and not copying the mainstream!
In the end they are just clothes, babes. You make the outfit, not the other way around!
What do you think of Secondhand September?
