Second Hand

Did you know the total greenhouse gas emissions from textiles production, at 1.2 billion tonnes annually, are more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping combined? [1]

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There is a lot that can be talked about with regards to fast fashion and the production of clothing but as this is a Small Step the focus is on shopping second-hand.

A 2017 WRAP report estimates an increase of 10% in second-hand sales could deliver environmental benefits, cutting carbon emissions per tonne of clothing by 3% and water use by 4% water. [2]

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In 2018 fast fashion was growing at an unsustainable rate with consumption rising around 5 times since the 1980s.  At this point consumption of new clothing was higher in the UK than any other European country – 26.7kg per capita.[3]

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Every time you are looking for a new item, be it clothing, books or household goods could you look to see if it were available second hand first?

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First place I start when looking for second hand items are local charity shops – you can find local shops to you at the Charity Retail Association.

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Local car boots or antiques fairs may be good hunting grounds and can be searched for on findcarboot and Fleamapket.

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I am also a huge fan of Vinted and have found some great bargains such as my second-hand watch which retailed new at £95 but was being sold for £10 as the battery had stopped. A new battery and it was good as new!

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Other general online sites include Gumtree, Deepop, Facebook marketplace or ebay. Books can be found at World of Books or Oxfam.

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Perhaps next time you are looking to buy anything you could look at second-hand options first?

 

[1] A New Textiles Economy - Summary of findings (thirdlight.com)

[2] Valuing our clothes: The cost of UK fashion | WRAP

[3] SFI0013 - Evidence on Sustainability of the fashion industry (parliament.uk)