At risk of sounding like a broken record, you already know I’m a sucker for secondhand finds!
Sustainable fashion takes on different forms, secondhand, conscious designers, rental- to name a few. But there’ll always be a special place in my heart for pre-loved fashion. The history and story of a garment is part of what makes it so special and interesting to me.
As a small example, this shirt and bangle were my Granny’s and they hold so much sentiment when I wear them. Since her passing, wearing her jewellery and fashion helps me to feel close to her. A great example of the personal value our clothes can carry. Do you have a fave secondhand piece with sentimental value?
Second-hand fashion, however you do it (thrifted, swaps, hand-me downs), is a great way to reduce your fashion footprint! 👣
What is Second Hand September?
Second Hand September is a campaign launched by Oxfam, that promotes donating, reusing, rewearing and restyling your clothes during September – and beyond! The aim is to encourage people to explore slow fashion, sustainable fashion and ethical fashion, shop and donate second hand and help create a fairer world.
Since 2019, Second Hand September has inspired thousands of people to shop in a way that is kinder to people and planet!
As many of us break up with fast fashion, vintage and charity shops become our new ‘retail therapy’ go-to. Which is great because extending the life of clothes by just 9 months reduces carbon, water and waste footprints by 20-30% each (WrapUK, 2015)! I've touched on this in a previous article: Vintage vs Charity Stores: ‘Who Are We?’. But the bottom line is this: second-hand alone can’t resolve the fashion crisis...
Secondhand solutions aren’t perfect, but they're a start
Only 20% of clothes donated to charity get resold, meaning 80% is often landfilled anyway (Council for Textile Recycling). As well, second-hand shopping doesn’t directly address issues of overproduction + overconsumption. I realised this during my 2019 pledge to only buy second-hand, as I found myself buying more, thriving on charity-shop finds.
I’m not saying don’t shop second-hand. Please, if and when you can DO shop second-hand and engage in second-hand practices! But as we do, we must be mindful to consider the bigger picture. We must push for industry level accountability and action so that fashion’s exploitative ‘take, make, waste’ business model is transformed to prioritise environmental and social justice right from the beginning. along with closed-loop supply chains that maximise recycling capabilities, whilst challenging our own consumption behaviours. 🛍
We must also remember that shopping secondhand is NOT an excuse to over-consume. The often cheaper prices in charity shops can entice us to want to get more bang for our bucks. But overconsumption is still overconsumption. And without tackling overproduction from industry and overconsumption as consumers, we'll still encounter ecological issues down the road - even when it comes to buying secondhand.
Second-hand fashion solutions themselves aren’t flawless, but yes, they are an excellent in-road to participating in the bigger picture of systemic fashion industry transformation!
When secondhand becomes second nature
As eloquently stated by Oxfam, 'Being part of Second Hand September is a powerful way of recycling and buying stylish outfits that don’t cost the earth, all while making a statement about the world we want'.
As someone who has preached about the eco benefits of secondhand for well over 6 years, I think it's fair to class myself as a seasoned secondhand shopper. In fact, I'd say that about 70% of my entire wardrobe now consists of secondhand pieces and more than 90% of all fashion purchases I make are secondhand. I not only take comfort in the environmental benefits, I also get huge enjoyment out of the process of secondhand shopping. It helps me to style myself more creatively and in turn, feeds into my creative energy. Plus, where else would I find a pair of mint condition Moschino jeans for £16 (thank you British Heart Foundation)!
To show you just a few of my secondhand finds, I've created a small gallery of fit checks from when I was working on the Kiosk Pop-Up Concept Store. Each of these outfits have been curated nearly entirely from secondhand pieces (bar the green and white trainers which are both from Veo). Now hold up. Lemme do a fit check (or 6).
Remember, these outfits are based on my personal style. When it comes to secondhand, whatever your personal fashion style, I know you'll be able to find amazing pieces!
In fact, why not check out Oxfam's Online Shop and see if you can find some secondhand gems for yourself. It is Second Hand September after all.
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