Before I buy anything new, I first look for it second hand. This applies to more than just clothes for me, but a good place to introduce yourself to the habit of second hand is your wardrobe. There are so many second hand shops and outlets (both online and offline) that you can find almost anything you could want. The fast fashion industry produces a huge amount of clothing and waste (not to mention its seriously questionable ethics surrounding worker and factory conditions), and it needs to be stopped. Reducing demand for new clothes by shopping for second hand items is the first step in slowing down the fast fashion industry. Breaking our fast fashion addiction and shopping for less is the second.
Oxfam has created the #SecondHandSeptember pledge to help people to give clothing a second life. On their website, they explain:
“Every week 11 million items of clothing end up in landfill. Throwaway fashion is putting increasing pressure on our planet and its people – it’s unsustainable. Now there’s something you can do to help. Join Second Hand September and pledge to say no to new clothes for 30 days.”
I’m lucky to live close to Dun Laoghaire, which appears to be the charity shop capital of Ireland. There are plenty of places you can look for secondhand gems, online and offline.
The places where you can buy new-to-you second hand items are also often the places where you can donate or sell your unwanted items. Selling or donating your old clothes gives them a second life and returns them to a circular economy. Buying second hand items is also much better value than buying new, and if you have good quality clothing to pass on, you could even earn some money by selling them.
Below I’ve outlined some of the many retailers of secondhand items.
Offline:
Charity shops – You can easily find high street charity shops with a quick search on Google or Apple maps. There are charities running stores in aid of many causes, so if you don’t know where to start, look for a shop that supports a cause close to your heart.
Vintage shops – Vintage shops are great for older, good quality buys. They’re usually independent shops, so do a quick search online or ask friends if they know of any good ones.
Swap Shops – A swap shop is an event where people bring along clothes they no longer want and swap them for clothes from other people. They often work with a token system, so that when someone arrives with their donations they are given a token for each item, and then the items are pooled with everyone else’s. This way you don’t have to swap item for item with another swapper. Swap shops are popular on college campuses, but you can find them through sustainable groups on Facebook. Keep an eye out for ads and posters – or organise your own!
Kilo sales – A lot of the bigger vintage retailers offer a “kilo sale”. Instead of paying per item, the customer pays per kilo. This is often very good value, particularly if you shop carefully. Kilo sales can be held monthly, or for special occasions. You can check with your local vintage shops or, again, look out for posters and ads in the streets and on social media.
Friends and families – Hand me downs, clear outs, passing things on, swapping with friends. Everyone has something they want to get rid of, so help each other out. Offer your unwanted items to friends and families and ask if you can look at anything they’re planning to throw out.
Online:
Charities – some charities, like Oxfam, list their better quality donations online, so you can shop from home and from a wider catalogue than on the highstreet.
Etsy – There are loads of vintage shops on Etsy. You can filter the results with the sidebar on the left of the page so that only vintage items are shown. When I look for something on Etsy, I use the location filter to see if what I’m looking for is available in an Irish shop, and if not, I do my best to buy from within Europe to reduce the price and environmental cost of shipping.
Vintage Shops – Some high street vintage sellers have online shops on their websites.
Thrifted.com – Thrifted.com is a large online shop for clothes made in the 80’s and 90’s.
ASOS Marketplace – ASOS runs its Marketplace as a platform for independent vintage shops to sell online through the ASOS website.
Depop, ThredUP etc. – there are other online shops which facilitate individuals in buying and selling clothes. They each work slightly differently if you want to sell, but they have a similar customer experience when buying.
Freecycle and Pay It Forward – There’s a lot of clothing on offer in Freecycle and Pay It Forward groups online. As I mention in my post “On finding free items”, you never know what you might find in a Freecycle group. You can easily find these groups on Facebook.
Thriftify – Thriftify is an online site that lists books, games, music and movies from charity shops in the UK and Ireland.
Frugainable 