Buying Second Hand Clothes Makes Your World A Better Place
Buying second-hand clothing is great for your wallet and the environment. You can save a lot of money and find beautiful pieces.
The fashion industry is responsible for the huge consumption of water, energy, and natural resources. This creates large quantities of pollution, hazardous chemicals, micro-plastics, textile waste, and greenhouse gas emissions. If no sustainable materials or renewable resources are used, huge environmental cost occur.
Alternatively, the second-hand clothing industry reduces the ecological footprint of fashion. It saves resources, pesticides, and fertilizers, reduces carbon emissions, and pollution.
Growth of Secondhand Clothing
Secondhand Is Becoming a Global Phenomenon, Expected to Grow 127% by 2026!
https://www.thredup.com/resale/#size-and-impact
Lower greenhouse gas emissions
The fashion industry lead by fast fashion is one of the largest polluters in the world. It is responsible for 10% of worldwide carbon emissions, according to the recent report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The global fashion industry emits 1.7 billion tons of CO2 each year. This represents more than all air and sea travel combined. By 2030, fashion related greenhouse gas emissions will rise by 50%.
According to the 2017 report by the American Apparel Association each person that buys second-hand clothing can prevent more than 500 pounds of carbon emissions every year. It reduces one’s water, waste, and carbon footprint by more than 80%.
Keeping clothing from landfills
Buy second-hand clothing to prevent more clothes and textiles to end up in landfills or incinerators.
Fast fashion is responsible for huge amounts of textile waste each year since it started in the 1980s. Cheap, trendy, disposable clothing encourages throwaway culture among consumers.
Americans alone generated more than 16 million tons of textile waste in 2017, according to the recent report from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
“Globally 20% of textiles are recycled, meaning the other 80% are lost to landfill or incineration.” – Alden Wicker, Fashion Revolution
Water our most precious resource
Reusing clothes is an amazing way of reducing the amount of water used for clothing production, as no new garment fabrication is necessary. Clothes with a higher lifespan that are durable and worn for a long time also have a reduced environmental impact.20,000 litres of water are needed to produce one kilogram of cotton, the equivalent to a single t-shirt and jeans. Reported by WWF,
This is great news for our wallets and our earth. By shopping for more second-hand clothing, the money you spend makes a huge difference by supporting a community of recycling and up-cycling.
As we need to cut back due to the increasing cost of living increasing across so many areas in our lives, we need to save across other areas. This has encouraged more of to enter the secondhanded market. 58% of consumers say secondhanded has helped them in some way during a time of inflation. From selling their unwanted clothing to finding their new wardrobe.
It’s not realistic to think that our society is going to step away from fast fashion and consumerism entirely. But new policies that encourage more second-hand shopping still have the power to make a significant difference and is one thing we can all do!!
Here’s where you can shop for second hand, pre-loved clothes.
// POSHMARK – an online marketplace designed for individuals to sell items from their closet for cash. Create an account and either purchase or sell directly from their app!
// THRED UP – another online marketplace and national store fronts that sell used clothing.
// SHOP LOCAL – shop around your town or city for thrift, vintage, and consignment options as well as shopping online through Esty, and smaller boutiques! This helps us connect to local communities, support local businesses financially and through word of mouth.
// SHOP ON INSTAGRAM – there are so many second hand or vintage shops selling through the app now. It’s an easy way to get connected to others living in similar ways, purchase timeless pieces and support small business!
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