Why can't I buy more second hand?

If I'm only allowed 5 new things, whats wrong with supplementing my wardrobe with thrift buys?

It’s a part of the circular economy, but it’s not the solution on its own

When you vow to stop buying so many new clothes, thoughts naturally turn to second hand. Our rabid consumption habits over the last two decades mean second hand sites and shops are loaded with goodies, often at a fraction of their primary sale price. Bargains galore! But swapping one shopping habit for another will not going to solve fashion’s problems.

The Rule of Five, as many of you are aware (quick recap for our new Fiver Friends), was born from The Hot or Cool Institute’s number crunching report on the fashion industry at the end of last year. In order for fashion companies to hit these punchy 2030 targets of keeping to the 1.5C warming targets, we need to stop producing and buying so much. Regenerative agriculture, biomaterials, better labour laws, partnerships - they are all well and good but they are not going to scratch the surface, when on its current growth trajectory fashion emissions are set to double by 2030. To reach it, the Institute devised a ‘sufficiency wardrobe’ of 74 items, and limited us to five new purchases a year. Around supplementing that with buying second hand, they were ambivalent. At least 20% of our wardrobe should be pre-loved anyway, they said. But if the second hand market was as rampant as the primary market, this would just continue to fuel fashion’s overconsumption, they explained.

But all this seems a bit unfair - how could a vintage gown in use since the 80s, be as corrosive as wearing as a brand new Zara dress? If we are to buy less and wear for longer, surely encouraging the second hand market is the answer?

An article in the Business of Fashion this week by Cathaleen Chen lays it out clearly. I’m going to excerpt the most salient points here, which is a bit naught as the BoF is a paid subscription and we need to support good journalism, (Why Fashion Needs Investigative Journalism). So please do click through to BoF on the link, sign up to a free month’s trial, and see if it’s your jazz. It’s an excellent trade platform with very good sustainability reporting.

The key insights are as follows:

1. The explosion of fast fashion over the last two decades has meant the secondhand market is awash with polyester party dresses and synthetic sweaters

2. The growth of the secondhand market has been promoted as a positive step towards creating a more sustainable fashion industry, but the reality is complicated.

3. Online, the margins to selling pre-owned fast fashion are slim to none. And so far, the influx of fast fashion on the resale market has not curbed the primary production of garments.

“On Poshmark and eBay, there are thousands of pre-owned Zara and Asos pieces for sale. Winmark Corporation, the company that owns the value-driven thrift chain Plato’s Closet and [more], said it buys and sells more than 100,000 fast-fashion items from brands including Shein and H&M every week across its 1,300 locations in North America. Big brands, under pressure from regulators looking to crack down on clothing waste, are launching their own resale portals too,” Chen reports.

The problem however, is that the rise of the second hand market has not contributed to us buying less primary - on the contrary, the growth in production and sales continues to be astronomical, with second hand just adding to the mix. Plus, reselling low value items just doesn’t make any business sense - the margins are too low.

“Resale giant ThredUp, which allows users to send in heaps of pre-owned clothing and helps them sell a portion of this load, has updated its payout policy to exclude low-value brands like Shein, Old Navy and Missguided. Sellers can still include pieces made by these brands in their “cleanout kits” and ThredUp might still sell them on its site, but the original owner just won’t receive any compensation for it,” reports Chen.

Meanwhile those sites that have launched their own resale verticals, such as Asos and the despicable Shein, reward their customers with points towards new purchases “essentially turning secondhand sales into a marketing tool that can feed their primary business,” as Chen observes.

The second hand market can be profitable: Winmark posted $39.4 million in net income last year on revenue of $81.4 million. However, as Winmark CEO Brett Heffes told Chen, the cheap goods that come through: “most of that stuff gets tossed.” To landfill.

In November, luxury resale site Vestiaire Collective banned ultra-fast fashion brands like Boohoo and Asos from its platform, a move “designed to distance the business from wasteful habits of over-consumption and promote high quality, long-lasting products to customers,” says Chen.

“We want to really try to figure out a new way of talking to someone who is searching for Shein or trying to list an item, and how to give them a solution,” said Dounia Wone, chief impact officer at Vestiaire Collective.

Critics pointed to the fact the move reduced access to an avenue that could prevent clothes going to waste. To counteract the potential effects of blocking fast-fashion listings, Vestiaire said it’s looking to better communicate with and educate its shoppers on how to donate items as well as how to mend or repair them. The idea is that, “when you buy firsthand Zara, maybe you can afford a better brand on a secondhand platform,” said Wone.

The issue, as the Hot or Cool Institute pointed out, is that unless a secondhand programme results in a reduction in the manufacturing of new products, resale won’t have a material impact on fashion’s sustainability issues. It appears to be an ‘add on’ rather than an ‘instead of’.

Here’s the interesting bit though, and for this I refer you to our swapping parties:

Some of the most exciting developments in fashion resale are happening in real life on a hyperlocal scale, such as on-campus college thrift stores that receive donations and even give payouts to sellers.

“There’s no online store, and it’s by the community for the community,” says Vermeer. “And they’re in the same life cohort so I think it’s an interesting model.”

Kate Lindello, founder of Noihsaf Bazaar, a peer-to-peer resale site with an emphasis on independent designers, suggested thrifters can get creative with their own networks, organising clothing swaps at bars and restaurants. Clothing exchanges or low-value trades make the most sense for fast-fashion pieces because they don’t command high resale values anyway, and being in-person takes the risk out of buying the wrong size or failing to notice a blemish. Noihsaf, in fact, began as a free clothing swap service on Instagram. Such networks still exist on Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere on the internet.

Swapping, peer to peer ‘resale parties’ and a more conscious approach to volume is where second hand wins. The European Union is now proposing clothing companies be charged for the costs incurred in the waste management process of their products, as they are in France and Spain. California has introduced a bill requiring clothing manufacturers to enact a reuse and recycle plan to divert textile waste.

So, proceed with caution on second hand. Honestly I’m not sure you can do without it if you are limiting yourself to 5 new things - on a needs basis, I have resorted to second hand already, (I bought a sunhat) and I fear I will need a new pair of sandals through this route aswell.

But all the questions that were asked at the beginning of this campaign about how and why we could use vintage are laid out very clearly in this report.

I don’t know about you, but I think, in these times of “global boiling”, the picture is becoming a lot clearer.

How are you getting on with your Rule of Five? I am in Mediterranean heat for this summer and I am really feeling it. I would love a new dress or blouse and am fed up with the limited capsule I have. But I’m powering on because I know the temperature will change soon (when I get back to rainy UK) and then more of my wardrobe will open up as an option.

Not going to lie though - it’s not easy!