Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a great lover and passionate advocate of second-hand shopping – particularly when it comes to clothes!
I decided to put together some brilliant reasons why we should learn to swap and share when it comes to fashion:
It’s great for the environment
We’ve all been there. We bought a clothing item that looked incredible at the time, but back in our own wardrobes it’s too small, big, bright, boring, etc.
The question is: what do we do with items that we no longer love?
A study from the Guardian suggests that over 235 million clothing pieces were headed for the landfill earlier this year, and over three-quarters of us throw away old clothes rather than donate or recycling them. This is terrible for the environment because of the pollution it causes.
Re-using clothes is just one easy way for us to play our part in looking after our precious planet.
It’s free (or at least, seriously cheap)
Second-hand clothes are at a fraction of the cost of high-street shops, which is great news all round for students and those with a little less disposable income.
An added bonus is that if you hunt round charity shops, the money you give is donated to worthy causes across the country and elsewhere such as Cancer Research UK or OXFAM.
If charity shops aren’t your thing, an alternative could be hosting a ‘Clothes Swap’ – something my church is really good at in terms of hosting and organising. Gather a group of friends and just bring any unused garments, jewellery or accessories and you can return with some new-found items that you love!
You can express creativity
The beauty of buying second-hand is that it allows you to express your style in new, innovative ways that isn’t the same as all the high street campaigns and models. Essentially, wanting to look good and enjoying fashion are great things, yet hunting around a little further than the local Topshop or New Look could lead to some more individual and interesting pieces.
With that being said, I recently saw that Topshop have started a new fashion line called ‘We Are Cow’ which up-cycles old garments into snazzy new ones!
Why not give second-hand shopping a go – you might just surprise yourself!
