Shopping pre-loved continues to rise in popularity
Has fast fashion finally found its comeuppance? As we foray deeper into 2022, the focus on fast fashion is quickly shifting. With major names such as Love Island shunning high street names for pre-loved garments, the way we shop is changing.
The past few years have seen fast fashion reach dizzying levels of popularity. A major reason for this is the social media boom where people don’t want repeated outfits on their feeds. The allure of being able to wear multiple looks for a fraction of the cost is a huge appeal and more people than ever are choosing this method of shopping. Yet what people don’t realise is the impact this has on our environment.
According to Hawthorn International, in 2018 £140 million worth of clothing was sent to landfills in the UK alone, equating to around 350,000 tonnes of unwanted garments. This shows just how much of an issue fast fashion is becoming. Yet times are now changing. The pandemic had many of us step back and re-evaluate our choices, seeing the positive impact the lack of human interference had on our environment. Without places to go and stories to post, the interest in fast fashion lessened and we had time to reflect. More of us started to turn to pre-loved fashion.
This focus on pre-loved fashion is continuing to grow, with everything from handbags to dresses and coats being purchased from second-hand outlets. A huge step in the right direction can be seen with Love Island’s new sponsor, Ebay. According to Emma Pinfold, founder of Bond Street to Your Street, 'Love for pre-loved fashion is back thanks to Love Island’s partnership with eBay.' A curator of exquisite pre-loved bags and shoes, she has seen her clients multiply over the pandemic.
'Many of my clients say that they have been considering shopping more sustainably over the past few years but didn’t know where to begin. The pandemic and the focus on shopping locally has given them a chance to start doing this through businesses like mine, which sell high end, pre-loved designer items online as well as in-store.'