Secondhand vs fast fashion: Why becoming aware of what you wear is trendy?
The topic of conscious fashion consumption caught my attention a couple of months ago while randomly browsing through the internet. Nowadays, there is no doubt that we are buying more and more fashion items to express our personality and create our own styles. That’s obviously fantastic and there are plenty of fashion opportunities for that! Conscious fashion made me naturally proceed towards researching fashion brands and their practices as well as buying and selling secondhand fashion. So read on to find out what’s the difference between secondhand and fast and why we should all become more aware of what we wear.
What is fast fashion really all about?
First, let me shortly introduce you to the concept of fast fashion. Historically, fast fashion wasn’t always fast. The materials needed to be sourced, prepared, and woven to make the clothing. When new technology appeared, the production process sped up so clothing could be produced easier and faster. The current pace of production and consumption makes fashion brands need to keep up with it to ensure that new fashion trends appear in the stores every few weeks or so. Therefore, some fast fashion brands like H&M have approximately 52 seasons a year and the research shows that the average American bought 68 pieces of clothing in 2019. It’s a staggering amount of seasons and the average of clothes bought per person, isn’t it?
However, in the fashion industry, there is another thing that is becoming more prevalent — the concept called ultra-fast fashion. Let’s think about webshop Shein. This is one of the biggest clothing producers worldwide. Shein has 6000 styles produced every day and you can buy 20 items from Shein’s webshop for approx. 135 €. Many of the items from Shein and other ultra-fast fashion brands are made from low-quality materials such as polyester and synthetic fabrics, which sadly contributes to a lot of production waste. Clothing production has increased dramatically since 2000 to the point that it has doubled up till now. Therefore, as you might have wondered by now, the delivery of clothes is another important aspect. Shein delivers the orders from the webshop in plastic packaging that is unsustainable and damaging to the environment. Essentially, both the delivery of the clothes and the low quality of the materials used to produce them contribute to increased harmful effects on the climate and the environment.
So now let’s introduce secondhand fashion!
The secondhand fashion industry has been growing at an astonishing rate. In recent years, secondhand fashion has captured a lot of attention from many people around the world. But you may wonder what really is this secondhand concept? That’s relatively simple to explain. So when you buy secondhand clothing, you are reusing something that has previously been worn by somebody else. Secondhand pieces are generally in good enough condition to be worn continuously rather than thrown away. Consequently, many of us are happy when our clothing lasts longer and makes someone else happy wearing it. Let me give you an example of that. Almost everyone has this coat hanging in the closet that we would like to keep for special occasions but it is hanging there for years and has rarely been used. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that coat on somebody who would really appreciate it? In this way, you prolong the life of your beloved clothes and make their new owner happy.
Another good news is that there are so many places for you to buy and sell secondhand clothing, such as vintage stores, flea markets, or the increasingly popular and convenient mobile apps. I am certain that all of these places provide unique thrifting experiences, gather the lovers of secondhand who strive for uniqueness and want to develop their own styles. This slower consumption enables you to choose what you purchase and be aware of your positive impact.
Why becoming aware of what you wear is trendy?
In summary, what I’ve discovered throughout my online research is that becoming more aware of what you wear and where you buy your clothes can be extremely trendy. Firstly, I strongly realized that wearing secondhand fashion and apparel contributes to decreasing your environmental impact. The astonishing fact about it is that if you wear an item for just nine months longer, you reduce your environmental footprint by 30%. Don’t you think it’s a great way to reduce your environmental impact and prolong the life of your clothes?
This made me wonder more about what kind of fabrics are used to produce what we wear. A shocking fact is that 33% of the wood pulp that’s used to make viscose fabric comes from ancient and threatened forests, and only 30% of this fiber ends up being used to make what we wear. Lastly, fast-fashion concerns claim to be more environmentally friendly than they actually are. By claiming to be socially and environmentally responsible, fast-fashion companies make you feel better about your impact.
Let’s take a look at the other aspects of this awareness. In creating your own style rather than following predefined styles from fast fashion brands, you increase your own creativity. Creating your own style allows you to express yourself freely. And that’s totally amazing!
Now it is your turn :) I hope to hear your thoughts about sustainability and fashion!
