Climate change has become an unavoidable issue. Between all the doom and gloom, it can be difficult to find actionable ways to contribute to a healthier planet. Realistic goals like reducing plastic waste can often be difficult to attain. Sadly, affordable products are often the prime offenders when it comes to eco-friendliness. But what if there was a way to do your bit for the planet without breaking the bank?
Before answering this, let’s take a look at some key statistics first.
Enter: The Clothing Industry
Fast fashion is responsible for a shocking contribution to environmental crises. Take SHEIN, for example, a brand beloved by trendy young adults looking to appear haute couture on a budget. Its inexpensive offerings are tempting, but according to greenmatch.co.uk it produces a whopping ‘6.3 million tons of CO2 emissions yearly’. As if that wasn’t bad enough, its polyester-based clothing can take anywhere between 20-200 years to decompose, littering the oceans with yet more microplastics in the process. While many consumers will be aware that brands like these contribute to environmental damage, what some may not realise is that they specifically target lower-income demographics who have no choice but to shop cheap. Even if you know that fast fashion isn’t eco-friendly, what can you do when you have few options?
The Answer … Shop Second-Hand
Perhaps you can’t eliminate the widespread dominance of the mega-brands, but you can help give clothes a longer life by buying pre-loved clothes online. When you buy second-hand clothes on a website or app such as Vinted, you do two things. First of all, you reduce the funding of brands like SHEIN, ASOS and Boohoo by cutting off direct income. If you buy an ASOS miniskirt from Vinted, your money goes to the seller, not the company that made it. You can’t guarantee the seller won’t buy more clothes from the same brand, but at least you have a second advantage: longevity. Those jeans or that shirt may have otherwise gone to landfill. By buying second-hand, you give clothes a second lease of life and keep them from littering the planet in the meantime. Grown out of the leggings you bought on Shpock a year ago? Sell them and somebody else can get another year of use out of them. We can’t stem the flow of money being pumped into mega-brands completely, but if everybody bought their clothes second-hand, at least some of the time, companies would have to rethink their business models and ethics to bring customers back.
It Won’t Fix Everything
Realistically, there’s unlikely to be a mass effort to the extent that we can make large corporations completely reform the way they do business. Governments need to do their bit to incentivise companies to do better, or failing that, penalise them for reprehensible emission levels. That’s not to say that we haven’t seen slow progress. Reuters reports that: ‘The “Say No to SHEIN” campaign, which is also backed by former Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas, wants the government to block SHEIN’s application to list on the London Stock Exchange until it has completed a thorough investigation into its labour practices, environmental impact and tax arrangements.’ GOV.UK has also stated that ‘The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be scrutinising eco-friendly and sustainability claims made by ASOS, boohoo and George at Asda about their fashion products, including clothing, footwear, and accessories.’
It’s good to see manufacturers being held accountable for their actions and misleading claims, but consumers need to do their part too. With so many websites available where you can grab good-quality clothes for a bargain (depop, for example, is full of countless barely used pre-loved outfits) there’s no excuse to not do your bit in countering a fashion mono-culture.
Become a Smart Buyer!
Next time you find yourself in need of a wardrobe refresh, see if you can source some second-hand finds within your budget. You’re likely to find that not only are you saving money but also getting higher-end clothes for a fraction of the price in stores. Even better, browse charity shops in your area and you may be able to support some good causes in the process. And, if you own a piece of clothing you don’t wear any more, don’t send it to landfill — get some money back for it and give it a new life!
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