Is Second-Hand Fashion Our Saviour?
We all enjoy the feeling a new item can give you. The possibility of a new outfit with the prospect of a whole other way to express yourself. And if it’s second-hand, it’s guilt free.
Second-hand fashion is an ever-growing market, currently estimated to be worth $177 billion globally and is predicted to almost double in value by 2027. In 2023, fashion resale grew 15 times faster than the broader clothing sector with second-hand items making up two out of five clothing purchased last year.
Buying previously worn clothes saw a spike in popularity in response to the ethical and environmental concerns raised by the growth in fast fashion. And with the rising use of apps like Depop, Vinted, and eBay, buying second-hand has become more accessible than ever before.
But when it comes to shopping for clothes on these apps, that accessibility might be encouraging overconsumption. Where once you may have found #SHEINhual or #PLThaul, now there is #Vintedhual with 41,800 posts on TikTok under the tag and almost 65 million views.
So, have we just swapped one bad habit for another? And why do we always feel the need to buy more?
The Vinted app has more than 80 million registered users globally.
In 2019, Natalie Dukes published her doctoral thesis at Coventry University focusing on consumer behaviour and the social dynamics surrounding frequent clothes shopping. Over the course of the study, she interviewed 30 women who brought at least two items of clothing a month and asked a few to keep a shopping diary.
She found three main reasons why we buy clothing, these include:
- The appeal of variety and the novelty of having something new.
- Clothing shopping as a habit, especially online.
- Gaining a sense of pleasure from the process of finding and buying an item of clothing.
The study also found that people who are more involved in fashion and had a strong sense of personal style were less inclined to frequently shop. Also, that those who brought more items of clothing, tended to have less confidence in what they wore.
During the study, Natalie said that many of the women told her they brought new clothes out of a sense of needing to look ‘right’. She said: “I don’t think it matters how many second-hand clothing apps there are, because it won’t replace that feeling of confidence someone might get from buying the latest thing.”
However, Natalie still believes that apps like Vinted and Depop are better than buying items new, saying:“I think they are, undoubtedly a positive thing for the environment andsustainability, because when somebody tires of wearing something, the apps provide a route to give clothes a second, third or even fourth life. And that can only be good.”
She added: “What I don’t think they do, is completely solve the problem, because you’re not removing this desire to buy something brand new.”
Carl Haymes owns Milk Vintage Clothing in Coventry city centre. He has worked in the fashion industry for his whole career and was previously the co-owner in a streetwear brand before launching his vintage store.
Carl says sustainability was the main appeal of launching his vintage store. “That’s definitely the most important thing, but also selling unique clothes that don’t break the bank.”
The shop has recently started uploading its stock on the second-hand fashion app, Depop, and can be found under the name @milkvintageclothing. Carl was reluctant to start selling via Depop, but declining footfall forced their hand, saying: “Selling on Depop was not a route we wanted to go down, but we don’t have a choice really. Lockdown has changes retail forever. People prefer the convenience of shopping from their phones at home.”
He added: “I think the accessibility and affordability these apps provide definitely promotes over consumption, but the bigger picture is it drives people away from the high street. It stops people coming into the actual store, and this is why so many independents have closed in recent years.”
The retail and fashion sectors are in a volatile state, and although resale clothing has less of an environmental impact than fast fashion it still doesn’t seem to be the solution.
Natalie says that change needs to come from all-round: “There are three actors in this situation, the consumer, the fashion industry, and the government. The change could come from any of those areas.”
She added: “At the moment, you see there are still videos out there of people doing shopping hauls and showing their different outfits, which all promote overconsumption.”
France has recently taken a more extreme stance on the subject, unanimously voting through a bill in the hopes to curb consumption. To reduce the effects of ultra-fast fashion, the law will ban the advertising of fast fashion products and adds an economic penalty on this type of clothing.
This is part of a trend in EU legislation, tightening up regulation on the fashion sector. It includes the expansion of the EU’s Non-financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), making it necessary for companies to conduct a risk analysis on their impact on the environment and society.
On a consumer level, Natalie believes we need a shift in the norms of clothes shopping, “To change consumers behaviour we have to shift what people feel is socially acceptable.”
Adding: “The key is what people buy should be valued, enjoyed and kept until the end of its usefulness. Clothing should be kept for a long time and shouldn’t just be cast away with once it’s out of style.”
Natalie isn’t free from the draws of the fashion sector: “I’m influenced just as much as everybody else. A pair of jeans is only a pair of jeans, they are blue cotton trousers, how can people be persuaded that one brand is so marvellously better than the other. And yet, I still find myself falling for these tactics.”
“I think particularly in the clothing sector, it should be about making good choices and buying things that have been produced in a responsible way. And spending your money on clothes that you like and like enough to repair and wear lots of times until they’re all worn out. In an ideal world that is what people would do.”
So maybe second-hand fashion isn’t our saviour. What is needed is a shift in habits and, changing the things we consider when buying clothes. Whether they are new or second-hand.