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Is buying second-hand clothes and thrifting the sustainable answer to fast fashion or just a greenwashing solution?
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As the fashion industry looks for sustainable solutions to combat issues like waste, pollution, and other environmental problems- a new solution is becoming popular with consumers- second-hand clothes. So, I’m taking a deeper look into what makes thrifted and vintage more sustainable in the long run than fast fashion.
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion refers to a mode of fashion production that prioritizes the number of garments and low prices above all else (you can read my explainer on fast fashion here). This kind of fashion production is pervasive in the United States and across the globe. You’ll find it in the suburbs, rural shopping centers, and city blocks. And for many, it’s one of the most accessible options for shopping. The clothes are trendy enough that they won’t make you look out of place and cheap enough for most people to afford them.
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Unfortunately, fast fashion is a problematic industry, and in the sustainable fashion world, we tend to think of it as the Big Bad. And it’s easy to see why. Fast fashion represents so much of what’s wrong with the entire fashion industry. It relies on cheap labor, poor working conditions, and techniques that are harmful to the environment. Just take a look at a few quick stats to see for yourself.
-The textiles industry uses 93 billion cubic meters of water annually.
-The fashion industry accounts for 8% of all carbon emissions
-Traditional textile dyeing–the standard method for fast fashion—is the world’s second largest water polluter.
-Fast fashion workers in Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, and Ukraine only earn 20-30% of what a living wage would be
–Only 32% of fast fashion brands maintain gender equality in their processing facilities
What’s been done to combat fast fashion?
Within the sustainable and ethical fashion worlds, there have been several movements to combat the horrors of fast fashion. We’ve lobbied for fair compensation for workers and healthy and safe work environments through movements like the Clean Clothes Campaign. Several certifying bodies exist to ensure safer and more ethical practices in fashion (I’ve written extensively about certifications before).
Some fast fashion brands have started to change. We’ve seen effective environmental efforts from ADIDAS, which made the shift to only using recycled polyester. We’ve also seen movements from brands like ASOS and H&M that didn’t quite hit the mark. It’s hard to see how producing one collection of sustainable materials or crafting a branded message around recycling without transparently addressing their environmental impact factors could remedy a systematic issue. Regardless, they’ve at least shown that they understand how profitable a perceived change in their environmental impact and ethical practices could be.
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Whether they want to put in the work or not, getting fast fashion brands to make changes toward sustainability, transparency, and ethical business practices is a glacially slow process. Let’s face it their current system is effective because it rakes in money. Being a more sustainable and ethical company is lucrative, but only in the long run and with full commitment to the issue. (Read more about that here in a wonderful explainer by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation).
So if you don’t want to wait around for fast fashion to change, what options do you have?
There are plenty of big sustainable and ethical brands out there. We cover them all the time. But it’s no secret that many sustainable and ethical fashion brands operate at a relatively high price point. When given the option between a $15 t-shirt and a $50 t-shirt that looks the same, most would go for the cheaper option, even if the more expensive t-shirt had been made in the most ethical conditions possible. And that makes sense. Many sustainable brands simply aren’t affordable options. But maybe there’s an easier option…
Enter: Second Hand
Second-hand stores, like consignment, thrift, and vintage shops, are easily the most sustainable, ethical, and affordable options out there. In terms of sustainability, buying second-hand eliminates the need for the environmental costs that go into new fashion.
Compared to buying new, one pre-owned purchase is said to save on average 1kg of waste, 3,040 liters of water, and 22kg of CO2.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Buying second-hand also deal with a big problem for the United States: garment waste. When there’s a healthy market for old, unwanted, or unsold clothing, there’s less accumulation of fashion waste because people see reselling or donating their clothes (or even their unsold stock) as a viable option. This means that clothes that would be otherwise incinerator-bound might end up in the hands of someone ready to wear them as is or repurpose them.
Second-hand shops are also leaps and bounds more affordable than most other alternatives to fast fashion. Whether you’re buying from your local consignment shop or an online thrift, it’s generally quite easy to find items from a variety of price points.
Even e-commerce secondhand shops provide a valuable alternative. They emit carbon emissions in their shipping process (this is just a reality of the situation). But, they don’t have nearly as many environmental impact factors to contend with as fast fashion or other sustainable and ethical brands. Plus, they can offer a more niche selection than local second-hand shops and various price points, catering to a wide range of consumers.
We Wanted To Learn About Recycled Cotton, So We Asked An Expert
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There are, of course, some downsides to the secondhand marketplace. With the expanded popularity of thrift and vintage stores, there’s always a possibility of increased prices (see: the basic principles of supply and demand).
And if you’re on the internet as much as I am, you’ve probably seen other discourse surrounding thrift shops. Mainly, when people who don’t financially *have* to buy secondhand do so, they take away opportunities from those who do. This is a good point.
My counterpoint to the idea of limiting opportunities for those who need to buy secondhand is this, by increasing the amount of second-hand shops, we can expand the field of selection. More opportunities mean that everybody can buy. Also, if we try to create a healthy second-hand market we’ll prevent waste accumulation and a bigger selection of options.
I’m not writing all of this to say that I’ve invented a solution. People have known about secondhand shops forever. And I know that people have relied on them forever too. But I want conscious consumers to rethink second-hand. With the emergence of online second-hand shops, I don’t see why we can’t shift our attention a bit and try to buy the clothes that are already out there, waiting to be worn. Maybe the most sustainable garments out there are the ones you’ve just saved from a landfill.