As charity Oxfam prepares to kick off London Fashion Week with a runway show spotlighting sustainable clothing, campaigners have argued that second-hand clothes are not “second best”.
The charity launched its sixth annual “Second Hand September” campaign on Monday, this year focusing on the impact fashion has on the planet’s water resources, raising awareness that shopping choices can dramatically reduce our impact on water resources.
Oxfam has also partnered with online marketplace Vinted for its “Style for Change” runway show on September 12, which will spotlight second-hand outfits coordinated by second-hand fashion pioneer Bay Garnett.
Eclectic
A stylist who has dressed stars such as Kate Moss in charity shop fashions says it’s “madness” that society thinks it’s extreme for celebrities to wear second-hand or vintage items, or the same outfit multiple times, on the red carpet.
“What planet are we on,” she said. “This isn’t second best or a substitute. It’s actually something we choose because it’s cooler and more stylish.”
Garnett, who recently spent time trawling Oxfam’s stores and warehouses searching for costumes for the show, said buying second-hand clothes was much more “creative,” “interesting” and “exciting” than buying new clothes.
While browsing the stock at Oxfam’s Notting Hill branch in west London, Garnett came across a rare pair of Charles Jourdan shoes from the 1970s next to a decoration with the word “kissing” embroidered in tiny letters.
“Where else can you find that?” she said. “What I love is the eclecticism and the purity of people’s belongings, things that are part of people’s lives and have a story.”
wear
Garnett said he has witnessed a “real wave of change” over the past five years as consumers turn to shopping second-hand.
“For a lot of young people, it’s seen as a cooler, more active, more independent and empowering way to consume, and I think that message is really sticking,” she added.
TV presenter Cat Deeley, who is leading Oxfam’s Secondhand September campaign this year, also spoke of her love for second-hand shopping.
“You can find something completely unique that nobody else has, customize it, and feel really good wearing it knowing that your money is going to a good cause and you’re giving that piece of clothing a second life.”
“Just because it’s second-hand doesn’t mean it’s second-best.”
Drowning
As part of the campaign launch, Oxfam assessed data from organisations such as Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), Water UK and the NHS to characterise the clothing industry’s water impact.
The charity found that buying just one second-hand pair of jeans and one T-shirt could save the equivalent of 20,000 standard bottles of water.
Analysis showed that producing one cotton T-shirt requires the equivalent of 5,400 500ml bottles of water, which would meet the daily drinking water needs of around 1,600 people.
Meanwhile, it takes 16,000 bottles of water to make one pair of jeans, enough to meet the daily drinking water needs of 4,750 people.
Lorna Fallon, Oxfam’s head of retail, said: “These statistics make it clear that we are addicted to fashion.
Used
“At a time when freshwater is becoming scarce around the world due to climate change, incorporating second-hand clothes into your wardrobe could significantly reduce the costs of producing water-intensive clothing.”
Since 2019, Oxfam’s “Secondhand September” campaign has aimed to encourage consumers to shop sustainably and highlight the power their choices have to reduce fashion’s impact on the planet.
The charity has previously partnered with eBay, but this year it is teaming up with Vinted for the first time.
The online marketplace has now launched its own sustainable fashion show, which will be streamed on the live shopping platform on Thursday.
Kirsty Keoghan, general manager of fashion at eBay, said: “With the launch of Preloved Fashion Week, we’re taking to fashion’s biggest stage, demonstrating that authentic designer fashion doesn’t have to be out of reach.”
This author
Rebecca Speer Cole is a sustainability reporter in Pennsylvania.
