How The Fashion Industry Is Changing For The Better

Is buying second hand clothes the way forward?

The used clothing resale market is growing at a phenomenal rate.

Pre-loved clothing looks set to do better than the fast fashion industry in the next few years. The UK has seen an increase in sales of 17.6% in the last few years. In the US clothing resale is valued at 28 billion dollars.

In the next decade, traditional fast fashion is set to grow by approximately 20%, while the clothing resale market is predicted to increase by a whopping 185%. The future value is estimated to be worth 64 billion dollars.

These are really exciting figures that show that opinions are changing around clothing and fashion. Let’s explore the clothing resale market some more.

Reasons For The Shift

There are a few reasons why many people now prefer to buy second-hand clothes. Years ago it was less popular and more people than today frowned at the idea of thrift shopping. The main reasons for the shift away from fast fashion to second-hand fashion are:

1. Saves Money

You can buy some great fashion pieces at a fraction of the cost. The types of pre-loved clothing available range from high-end designer wear to smaller high street brands. At the top end of the used clothing market, designer fashion can be bought for less than half the price. Whether your favourite designer brands are Versace, Gucci, or Prada you will find them all.

There are many occasions where the clothing that you but has barely been worn. I have seen clothes in second-hand stores that look like they have never been worn.

Not only do you save money but depending on where you buy your used clothes you can help charities. Buying from charity shops will allow you to update your wardrobe, you get the chance to contribute to somebody who needs help.

2. Sustainability

One major reason for buying used clothing is sustainability. By buying used clothing it is better for the environment. Producing new clothes involves production and transportation. While producing new clothes certain resources need to be used. Large warehouses often use large amounts of energy. Also, there is often the need for lots of transportation to move the clothes around. This involves using lots of fuel which in turn is damaging to the environment.

Many are also conscious about the labour that is used to produce new clothes. It has been reported in recent years that cheap labour is being used to produce clothing. Stories of people working around the clock in substandard conditions to produce clothes while earning barely anything has people worried.

There is also the concern over child labour. Reports of children working in sweats shops and being exploited have left many people feeling worried, for their well-being. Some retailers have made a conscious effort to try and use certain factories that do not have these practices, but buying used clothes is one way of eliminating this.

3. Quality

Many pre-loved clothes are really good quality. These are the clothes that have gone the distance and are still wearable.

Pre-loved clothes that are sold are often restored by deep cleaning them and ironing them. They are presented really well. These days when you are buying pre-loved clothes you can often feel as though it is a new piece of clothing. Care is taken over these clothes and anything that is not up to standard does not make it to the clothes rail. Just because it is used clothing does it doe not mean that the quality is missing.

4. Unique Pieces

The great thing about used clothing is that you can find some unique pieces that you wouldn’t find on the high street.

The same pieces are sold in volume with new clothing, which means that thousands of other people out there will have the same clothes as you. Not only can you but clothes that are no longer on the high street, you can also tailor this to make it even more unique.

Many people that buy used clothes enjoy dressing their pieces up. Things like adding beads or glitter to jeans can jazz it up. This has been described by a lot of people as a really enjoyable way to spend their time.

Used Clothing Retailers

Retailers that sell used clothing are growing both online and offline. Many of these specialise in used clothes and have a great range of all types of fashion.

Some of the current used clothing retails are:

1. thredUP

By far one of the most successful online thrift Stores thredUP has a huge range of used clothing. It is the world’s largest platform for used clothes online and has been going for just over ten years.

ThredUP gives you the opinion to sell your used clothes to them. All you need to do is put your used clothing in a box, and they will provide you with a shipping label to post it to them. Once they have received the items they will pay you.

2. eBay

There is the option to buy new and used. There are thousands of individual used clothing retailers on eBay. The great thing about this platform is that you can look at a seller’s feedback score to see if they have a high level of satisfied customers.

You can buy just about any used clothing item on eBay including shoes, coats and handbags. With eBay you can bid on things through an online auction or buy the item outright, depending on how it is listed.

3. thrift.plus

Thrift.Plus is another great used clothing retailer, that has a large range of clothing available.

You can donate your clothes to this online retailer, and they will collect your clothes, so you won’t have to think about the delivery. Thrift.plus pride themselves on selling high-quality clothes, that have no defects or stains.

Another feature of thrift.plus is that you can choose which charity the proceed of your sale goes to.

4. Vinted

At online store Vinted you can buy and swap used clothes. Vinted has 37 million customers and it is still growing.

The benefit of selling on Vinted is that there are no selling fees. Once your item sells you get the full proceeds of the sale. They also have an app available that you can use on your mobile phone.

5. Depop

Another app for buying used clothes is Depop. This app focuses on fresh and trendy fashions. Like eBay the site is made up of different sellers. Depop has 18 million users and first started in the UK.

Depop is a great place to buy vintage clothing. It is also great for younger people because it has a large range of fashions aged at teens and people in their 20s.

The next time you decide to update your wardrobe why not try buying pre- loved clothing? and consider getting rid of your unwanted clothes in an ethical way.

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