Is overconsumption still possible when buying second hand?
Although pre-loved clothing trumps fast fashion any day of the week, it may not be completely solving the overconsumption issues at stake.
The rise of resale sites such as Vinted and Depop are making secondhand shopping more accessible to the masses, yet is this fully solving the problem?
But amongst the masses of shops, some resellers are creating a unique shopping experience for their customers.
Vintage reselling shops have popped up, and can be found all over the UK as an alternative way to purchase secondhand.
Resellers are curating spaces containing preloved items packed with personality and charm, and selected intentionally.
The deliberate nature of these selections aids creating stock in shops that will realistically sell.
Exploring the intentionality behind item stocking
Yasmin Saboor
Vintage reseller Yasmin Saboor, 23, is the owner and founder of Lucky Cow Vintage in Castle Arcade, Cardiff.
From being obsessed with Depop since the age of 15, a page that used to ‘run my [her] life’, vintage has always been a part of her life.
She said: “I think I've always been into secondhand vintage and a charity shop rummager.”
Looking at the statistics
DID YOU KNOW
67%
of millennials shop second hand?
BUT ONLY
10-30%
of clothes donated go to charity shops
So regardless of how angelic we feel donating clothes, they can remain in bags or left on the rails.
According to the 2022 Report by Hot or Cool there are three vital ways we as humans can change our habits and lifestyle options:
1
Reducing purchasing of new clothes
2
Increasing use-time
3
Responsibly Disposing
Yasmin's thoughts on overconsumption
Yasmin shared when looking at items that are sustainable you have to ‘put a lot of work’ into knowing that it actually is.
That’s when looking at care labels on clothes could be your new best friend, not just to see if they can go in the wash, but to look at the fabrics and quality of the garments.
Good On You is a website diving into sustainable fashion by assessing brand ratings and top places to shop for sustainable fashion.
Isabella Vrana
Experienced vintage re-seller and owner of her own label, Isabella Vrana’s 128 is based in Hackney, a popular spot welcoming women and girls into the space for the past year and a half.
Vrana said: "I started telling secondhand very casually, I hadn't planned for it to be a job but I always used to sell my old stuff on eBay with my mum and my sister.”
Vrana said: ‘I started telling secondhand very casually, I hadn't planned for it to be a job but I always used to sell my old stuff on eBay with my mum and my sister.”
When she moved to London she found herself surrounded by a greater number of Vintage stores compared to back home in Cheltenham.
She started buying more, and selling what no longer fit her on Depop. Vrana said: “I just started selling on Depop and then just really gradually grew and realised I was making some money from it so started investing in more stock and finding suppliers.”
128 Owners. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
128 Owners. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
Inside 128. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
Inside 128. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
Vrana’s 128 in Hackney is her first official physical store, and has been open for a year and a half.
She said: “I just decided it was time for a physical retail space. I've done pop-ups for my own label at other peoples' shops, I’ve been to internationally to do pop-ups in other people's shops and realised how fun it was to have a shop.
With the rise of online resale sites and commerce platforms making second hand accessible at the click of a button, physical shops remain champion in providing a unique experience which remains intangible for now.
She said: “It showed me a really nice side of it. The customer facing aspect of it is such a nice thing as well to have that as part of your daily routine or your working week was really nice.”
Vrana's inspiration when sourcing stock
As a seller with a decade of experience under her belt, she shared: “It's been like 10 years now that I've been running my business, so I generally have a good idea of what's going to work well and what isn’t. I’m not too scared to try stuff.”
Inside 128. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
Inside 128. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
Isabella outside shop. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
Isabella outside shop. CREDIT: Isabella Vrana
It is not uncommon for personal style to change and adapt. However when this happens we need to be conscious of the impact these decisions are making on the environment.
Vrana said her personal style ‘changes over the years’ with decades and eras more than trends. She incorporates some of her own pieces into her shop when she feels they are not her style any longer.
The creation of her own label which she has run for six years shows off her own sense of style, and she wanted to create something personal for her customers.
So, why do we buy second hand?
Buying pre-loved items is proven better for the environment than buying new. However if the same overconsumption trends remain, it could lead to discarding these items anyway further down the line.
The want to buy second hand could be motivated by a variety of reasons; price, fashion sense or thinking for the climate first.
ThredUp’s Report states the top reasons as to why people shop second hand are:
- To get better deals
- The thrill of the hunt
- To afford higher-end brands
- Its better for the planet
- To find ‘one of a kind’ looks
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