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I’ve always loved to WRITE. It now feels old-school and like an alien, slow pace of life compared to today’s snappy video content and algorithms that have stripped us of our attention spans. The ‘old school’ content is my roots, and fuck, considering how Instagram plays us these days, I’ve felt the urge to go back to what made me log in to the internet in the first place and put pen to digital paper.

I’ve been putting myself out there online since I was 21 - exposing my age here, but that makes it around 17 years, which is an incredibly long time. And I’ve seen it all.

I don’t count MySpace as my digital debut, as I never really knew how to MySpace properly - couldn’t work out the HTML, had mini breakdowns about the top friends, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never compete with my emo/scene heroes. I couldn’t commit to the huge fringe, multiple piercings and dramatic eyeliner… and skinny jeans weren’t (and never have been) my friend.

My proper dalliance with the online world began when I started writing for a travel ‘blogazine’ after I graduated. It was 2009, the pre-Instagram era, when a newly spawned Facebook was just for publishing endless photos from one night out… but blogs were making their debut, offering a new creative outlet where people could curate their content and share their opinions and personality in a wide variety of beautiful ways.

I had an archaeology degree under my belt and took off travelling to escape the recession, with a notebook and a camera.

I wrote with a team of 9 other ladies on travelettes.net (no longer active), and it was the first multi-writer travel blog for women. This exciting and empowering venture led to incredible press trips and experiences, not to mention the accumulation of digital marketing skills that have ultimately led me to my full-time job.

I captured stories, photographs, tips, advice, contributed a short travel story to a published book, stayed in ridiculously unique places (a private island in The Philippines was a highlight), had quotes in large news outlets; it gave me a lot of opportunities and I found it all so fulfilling… until this unpaid hobby job that came with a boss (editor) began to drag noticeably, especially when I had a full time paid job with another boss taking up my 9-5.

After I left, I bounced around on another blog with my sister, posting inconsistently and light-heartedly on socials to promote… until lockdown hit, babies were made, anxious dogs that couldn’t travel were adopted, and life in general ground to a halt.

I’d always had a penchant for secondhand everything, and found myself wanting to do something different - my travel blogging alter ego was tired. And not going to lie, after I laid my travel reporter persona to rest, post-lockdown holidays and travels became so much more fun. Fuck documenting, start enjoying.

Where did it all go right and wrong…

So I’ve been on Instagram as @saint.thrifty for around 5 years now - 77k followers, small fish but big to me. A number I’d never achieved before, and outstripped travelettes’ following due to a few viral moments where I managed to punch the algorithm straight in its face through various trial and error. I was proud and had so much fun with it… until I became disengaged from creating and lost that feel of community.

Instagram has done a number on community. The platform rose in popularity with connecting people; I’ve met amazing people through the app and have created life-long bonds.

But now it’s more about ‘human fracking’ attention - keeping us divided with no connecting, more consuming and scary censorship.

More and more friends and insta-friends are laying their online life to rest, or not engaging at all. Cue the tumbleweeds. Community is what inspired and motivated me, and without it, I fell silent, failing to take stock of how to regain it.

The distinct lack of connection was getting me down, turning the scroll into a never-ending slideshow of snappy videos, memes and yapping rather than meaningful interactions, and not forgetting the cut-and-paste ChatGPT scripts and captions, turning everyone into ‘thought leaders’ stripped of raw humanity.

I found myself forced to stay on it, as I had somehow tricked myself into thinking that this online world had become my identity. Who the hell was I without it? Why is my self-worth attached to an app that could all disappear in a heartbeat if psycho Zuckerberg (or his bots) decided to end it all?

Vulnerability makes us easy prey…

My dad’s death at the end of 2024 knocked me for six. The horrific build-up to the death was also a fucking nightmare. I know that’s when the creativity dried up, the drive to do much failed, and my vulnerability made me easy prey. But I didn’t pick myself up by my bootstraps and get behind the wheel again.

My creativity had stalled. My eyes swollen with the consumption of content. The never-ending scroll. My voice of anger, truth, and education about fast fashion and the various tedious tactics they use to trick consumers had turned into banal captions and thrifted outfit posts that felt like box-ticking to cling to followers.

And to be honest, the higher the follows became, the more I hid away. It overwhelmed me to have so many eyes on me.

I second-guessed the content and words, distilled big content plans into simple, repetitive reels that completely sidestepped the original messaging and visuals because I chickened out. My content began to feel self-indulgent and shallow - I was making content that wasn’t fulfilling; it wasn’t how I started, but I felt like a rabbit in the headlights that now overthought everything and created nothing.

What if I say the wrong thing? What if my content hits the wrong audience? What if I haven’t done my research properly? What if they all come for me with pitchforks and carry me away into the night because I called them fast fashion dickheads?

Spoiler alert. I’m not an expert.

Followers don’t mean that I’m automatically a perfect creator who’s qualified in their field and can address every nuance.

I’m just someone who began thrifting as a challenge to move away from buying new, and decided to make it a rule of my life. Then I started going down the rabbit hole of overproduction, overconsumption, the garment workers, the factories, the lies and deceit, the white supremacy.

There’s so much more to why I shop secondhand instead of new (and why you should) than ‘look at my latest Vinted find’. And I hated that I was buffering and stalling, and slipping into ‘safe content’ when it came to getting points across.

“((Instagram isn’t real, remember?))”

I have more to say than an Instagram post can hold ((and I am more than Instagram)), which is exactly why I started this Substack all that time ago. Rereading my last post feels like reading the words of a stranger - who the heck was that who had the patience and attention span to write something longer than a caption?! I’m glad it was me, although I barely remember her. She’s been through a lot since that was published.

I can write. I do have worth. I’m not a loser (like the chants in my head say). I can do something other than exist. But as I’m penning this draft at 2 am, I guess sleeping isn’t something on my list of boasts.

I can’t let an app dictate my self-worth. Taking back control, however that will look (or at least making the decision), is already making me feel more grounded.

Now what…

Instagram will come back, I’m sure. I need to recalibrate, get my footing, remember why I started it in the first place and start making content that feels right and good to me, rather than what I think the people will find entertaining.

Consuming consciously with boundaries is also something I need to implement. Make interactions meaningful, stop the doomscrolling, take long breaks where digital stimulation ebbs into boredom, which transforms into creativity.

But until then, let’s see what happens next… this Substack might be about the cruel work of fast fashion and capitalism. It might also be about other thoughts - just stuff that makes my fingers tip-tap, my brain spark and puts a spring in my digital step.

Life changes; people come and go; inspiration shifts; motivation slows when the fuel feels stale. Sometimes it can take a catastrophic event to make you reevaluate, or it’s a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ situation that finally tips you into change.

If something from the past is no longer serving you and causing anguish, it’s time to move, change, create in new ways, evolve.

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I had spied the recall notice for items of clothing on Shein’s website and did some research. At the time (2021), it was only reported on a few Canadian websites but I was flabbergasted that no one was talking about it. How had it not hit mainstream media?!? Why was no one concerned that TODDLER clothing contained ridiculous amounts of lead and was being recalled with the most subtlest of subtle recall notices??

Suddenly my whole TikTok went down for slander. Permanently removed. That SHEIN video was the only video that full-on ranted and slated a particular brand, so my detective powers deduced that that video must have been what caused my TikTok career to be so short lived. Annoyingly, it didn’t matter that the video was entirely based on FACTS. Facts and receipts - you bet I had ‘em. But I also had venom and fury in my delivery, which probably didn’t help matters.

See the video below - it’s still alive on instagram but alas, it proved to be my 2021 TikTok downfall…

It’s worth noting that since I last checked in 2021, Shein have now removed the product recalls section of their website. Which is fun. To find their latest abhorrent products that are too dangerous to be worn, you now need to specifically search for it. And you can see some worrying product recall notices via other websites, such as:

Product Safety Information Notice on a Plastic Sandals sold on Shein: “The risk reported to the CCPC is that of chemical due to the presence of banned/restricted chemicals; Phthalates and extractable Cadmium, which can harm children’s health by potentially damaging their reproductive system.” (February 6th 2025)

So yeah, that TikTok account went down and I can only assume that Shein saw it and was not happy. Pure suspicion on my behalf and it would be wild if it was true, but here we are. Censorship. Don’t talk bad about the billionaires. Lesson learnt, but not obeyed.

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Ok, now what about Instagram?

My instagram has always been a space where I’ve shared opinions on unethical fashion and pointed the finger at billionaire fashion owners for contributing to the state the world is in. Mainly from a fast fashion perspective as that’s what I really know in detail.

No matter what the scientists and activists say, these fashion moguls (from fast to luxury and all the other unethical ones in between) will never stop churning out clothes and leveraging oppression to line their pockets.

The only weapon we (as consumers) have in our arsenal is our money. Our hard earned cash. The cash we accumulate from working our buns off and see quickly dwindle as we navigate this increasingly expensive world and its living costs.

Why do we so readily hand it over to people at the top who will burn us all to the ground and step on the necks of the global south and other garment workers?

If we redirect our money to ethical businesses, small businesses and reuse what already exists in the world, then that’s the biggest ‘fuck you’ we can give to billionaires and capitalism. Our money has power and this has been recently shown in the US.

When Target removed their DEI initiative and CostCo kept theirs, consumers made their point of view KNOWN. Target has been boycotted. Costco has seen huge volumes of new members. People want to support businesses doing good. And Target have felt the wrath of the consumer, to the point that they’re being sued by their stakeholders for this boycott as they’ve seen huge drops in their investments. Fuck around and find out, eh.

But I digress.

Amongst everything that’s been going down in the US, Zuckerberg (aka King Meta) has bent to kiss the ring of Trump by rolling back fact checking for the ‘freedom of speech’… but we know what that really means. Freedom of speech as long as it fits a certain narrative.

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So what about the Instagram censorship?

I’d been off Instagram for the past few months after losing my dad just before Christmas. I hadn’t really done anything other than be around family, prepare for the funeral and just generally lie down. I hadn’t gone out, seen friends, I didn’t have the capacity to watch TV or movies… but I was continuously consuming the never-ending shitstorm of what was happening in the US, including what people in the US were reporting in terms of social media censorship. It wasn’t quite the smartest move for my mental health considering I was/am dealing with grief. But I couldn’t avoid it.

I finally came back to instagram at the end of January with a post on the only thing I could focus on - how life is going down the shitter.

It was about how we must use critical thinking when consuming online content as we don’t have power over our algorithms. It detailed how meta and other tech behemoths had control of the narrative. We have to be wary. We have to stay alert and fact checking content ourselves since those that control the platforms can no longer be trusted.

It got taken down as it 'went against community guidelines’.

Yes, risky and perhaps foolish to slander the very platform I was posting on. But we have freedom of speech, right? I’m just a tiny blip in terms of followers, right? Apparently that means nothing. Apparently, they will take content down that goes against their version of truth and what they want the people to avoid thinking about.

And the irony is not lost on me that a post about censorship got censored. See the full caption below:

So this happened on the weekend, and by Wednesday, my post had been reinstated (does this new development transform my title into clickbait?). I had requested for the post to be reviewed twice, and I’m glad it’s back. The thought of being censored is unnerving.

It was a wake up call. The thought that we need to sugarcoat our words or artfully disguise our words to dodge algorithmic hitmen is alarming and exhausting. It made me consider quitting instagram, but there was something inside me that thought ‘that’s what they’d want’.

So whilst I’m harping on about censorship and social media, the main crux of this is that despite who’s in power, we must keep on going.

Write, film, photograph, make music, sing, paint, move, sew, read - whatever gets your creative juice going, embrace it. Even if it’s not quite a traditional art form, like Instagram, leverage it to connect to your community.

Use creativity as respite for when the world news gets stiflingly heavy. Respite and recharge so we don’t get burnt out and can continue pushing.

When I fully get my motivation back, I will continue to do silly thrifted outfit posts with undertones on how the world is being let down by the filthy rich. But maybe I’ll tread carefully so I don’t permanently lose my thoughtful, nurturing community. Having the freedom to connect with others is invaluable to me.

Please feel free to subscribe to hear my ramblings about sustainable style, the evils of fast fashion, and more. I hope Substack remains an avenue where we can speak from the heart without having to worry that oligarchs will edit us out.

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I stopped buying new clothes around 5 years ago, and started to exclusively buy from second hand sources. Depop, Vinted, eBay, vintage stores, markets - you name it, I’m there hunting out great bargains and thrifted treasures. It began as a way to get control of a spiralling fast fashion habit that was stuffing my closet with clothes that just weren’t my style and burning a hole in my bank balance.

But as I continued along my second hand journey, I learnt more and more about sustainable style and the impact of both the luxury and fast fashion industry on the world and people. It’s truly startling when you realise how an industry designed to be so beautiful can have such an ugly underbelly that they’ve tried so hard to hide over the years.

Unfortunately, second hand isn’t the complete answer to achieving sustainable style or bringing sustainability to the fashion industry. There are good points to shopping second hand, but there’s also the bad and the downright ugly.

So let’s explore one of the most popular ways to embrace sustainable style and dive into everything you need to know about buying second hand.

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Everything you need to know about buying second hand clothes

Buying new vs buying second hand: Times are changing

Gone are the days where second hand came with a stigma where people looked down their noses at the low prices and pre-worn items, dismissing them as a dirty shopping option. And it’s about time! There are so many benefits to shopping second hand; from lower prices and finding treasure in someone else’s trash, to discovering stunning vintage ‘one of a kind’ items.

More people are buying vintage and second hand clothing, as backed in Co-op’s report: Twenty Years of Ethical Consumerism. Before the pandemic, charity shop sales had increased four-fold from £133m to £732m in 20 years indicating that it was a source of shopping that was here to stay. And it’s been predicted that the resale market will be worth more than the fast fashion industry by 2030 (Harper's Bazaar) - great news!

The notable rise in second hand popularity has seen a new wave of sustainable influencers and fans who advocate for this sustainable lifestyle, of shopping second hand. Most notably demonstrating how second hand isn't fugly, frumpy, dirty or ‘less than’... It shows how second hand is a great way to embrace your personal style, stay trendy without following ‘new trends’ decided by fast fashion, and look hella cool while wearing someone’s preloved items.

The more I began to explore sustainable style and thrifting, the easier sourcing second hand became and the confidence in my own style grew. I learnt about the fashion industry (including the psychology and habits of consumers) and began to see through the greenwashing and marketing tricks of fashion brands. And once you start to see through their thinly veiled lies, it makes it hard to give them an ounce of your support… let alone your money.

Shop second hand: The sustainable choice when buying fashion

With the growth of both education and accessibility, second hand has finally got the recognition it deserves. Consumers are realising the detrimental impacts of fast fashion and cottoning onto the shady methods used to create the fast, cheap clothing in large volumes. From suffering garment workers who are underpaid and overworked in awful conditions, to the massive environmental impact of the textile industry. Fashion waste impacts our planet, and the lives of those who have to live besides the expanding landfills of clothing that threaten their ecosystem and health.

It’s about time we start shopping second hand as there’s enough clothing in the world to clothe the next 6 generations of the human race, which is absolutely shocking when you really think about it.

We have more than enough. We have more than we need.

But despite this, clothing companies continue to overproduce and are creating more than 1 million garments every day (Greenpeace) and we as consumers continue to over consume. Globally, we consume 80 billion pieces of clothing every year and it’s estimated that more than two tonnes of clothing are bought each minute in the UK (Oxfam).... And each year, as much as 92 million tons of clothing ends up in landfills (TheRoundup).

We’ve sadly found ourselves at the point where fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world… second only to oil (ecowatch).

So what are our options when it comes to sustainably buying clothes?

10 reasons to shop second hand

Let’s delve into why shopping second hand is one of the most sustainable options when buying fashion, and how it can be a big F*CK YOU to the large corporations and brands that continuously churn out more and more clothing, and periodically (and ironically) throw in a greenwashed ‘We Care’ campaign every few months.

1. It curbs demand in the fashion industry:

Fast fashion is unlikely to stop without proper legislation to regulate the industry, and that’s the sad truth. While money reigns over the lives and health of garment workers and the condition of our environment, these unethical fast fashion brands will continue to pop up, churn out clothing and push sales on us. They’re owned by business moguls who know what they’re doing, and they know how to make money.

By shopping second hand, you’re not directly buying from fast fashion brands which means you’re not directly stimulating their sales with your money so they can make even more. Where there is demand, there is supply. And when it comes to capitalism, the supply is HUGE.

2. Someone’s trash is ALWAYS another’s treasure.

You’re making a more sustainable choice as you’re shopping from other people’s preloved items instead of buying new. It’s all about keeping all clothing in circulation.

As previously mentioned, 92 million tons of clothing ends up in landfills (TheRoundup) so to drive it home, think of the equivalent of a rubbish truck full of clothes being dumped on landfill sites every second.

Buying & selling unwanted or preloved clothing will help reduce what’s going into the landfills, extending garment life cycle and embracing a circular economy with fashion. With the amount of clothing already in existence in the world, a circular approach is ultimately what needs to happen.

3. It will save you money.

This is an obvious benefit as second hand clothing is more often than not cheaper than the retail cost. When something is bought new, it immediately depreciates in value. So by buying something preloved, you’re unlikely to pay the cost of it being brand new, which is great when you’re on a budget.

This is especially true when buying fast fashion second hand and exploring charity shops, but there are always exceptions to the rule i.e. charity shops in affluent areas can be more costly and resellers who buy cheap clothing in bulk and hike up prices to make a profit. Some vintage items will be more expensive due to the rich history woven into the fabric and/or the craftsmanship.

A further flipside is the debate over how thrifting becoming mainstream is reducing the quality and quantity of clothing for those on lower incomes who have no choice but to thrift in order to clothe themselves and their families. It’s a double-edged sword as thrifting becoming popular is encouraging reusing on a large scale and spreading the word on the environmental/society cost of new fashion, but the side effect is the reduction of accessibility for those who depend on thrifted clothing.

4. Support charities and local businesses

Charity shops are great sources for second hand clothing, as well as brick n’ brack and furniture. When shopping preloved in charity shops, you’re not only making a more sustainable choice with your consumption… You’re also making monetary donations to a good cause.

And when it comes to thrifting, vintage and thrift shops are generally independently owned so you’re supporting independent businesses who help make up the magic of towns and cities. We all love a local business doing their bit to help reduce, reuse and recycle.

5. Discover your personal style

Avoiding fast fashion trends and the marketing of fashion brands can help you make more considered approaches when it comes to fashion. Fast fashion brands churn out multitudes of garments and micro-trends every week (in some cases, every day) - their marketing and user experience on their websites (or in-store) are designed to capture your attention, get you purchasing and then hook you again to buy more.

Shopping slowly with preloved can help you discover your personal style, which can really help with building a sustainable wardrobe. Shopping second hand is pushing back against the ads and marketing that’s being shoved down our throats, and helping you think more about what you actually like and need.

When you know your personal style, you’re likely to buy more consciously and not make wild, outlandish purchases that you won’t wear. Whether it’s a colour palette, a certain silhouette or a general style, when you know what you love and that you’ll get wear out of an item, consider it a considered purchase.

Knowing what works for you means the temptation to continually buy more will drastically reduce. The purchases you do make will last and you’ll love them so much, you won’t give a damn about outfit repeating.

6. Reducing the impact on the environment

Instead of buying new and buying second hand, you’re embracing the circular economy and ensuring that you’re not stimulating the demand in the fashion industry. The environmental impacts of the fashion industry are quite shocking. Statistics can vary widely and sometimes contradict each other - but we’ve plucked a few statements from the internet below to give you a flavour of the challenges the industry faces. It’s always worth following the data - checking stats and finding their original source.

• Buying just one white cotton shirt produces the same amount of emissions as driving 35 miles in a car (WRAP).

• Cotton is a thirsty crop that needs a lot of water to grow, and is one of the most chemically dependent crops in the world (ecowatch). In some places, like India, inefficient water use means that up to 20,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1kg of cotton (sustainyourstyle) and the runoff of pesticides, fertilisers, and minerals from cotton fields contaminates rivers, lakes and wetlands. This affects biodiversity directly by immediate toxicity or indirectly through long-term accumulation (WWF).

• More than a half trillion gallons of freshwater are used in the dyeing of textiles each year. The dye wastewater is discharged, often untreated, into nearby rivers, where it reaches the sea, eventually spreading around the globe (ecowatch).

These quick stats are the tip of the iceberg. The fashion industry has such a long, convoluted manufacturing chain that it has so many damaging touch points if not approached ethically or sustainably. By buying preloved, second hand clothes you’re reducing the demand from new production.

7. Push back against fast fashion brands who are trying to cash in on second hand

We’re all familiar with fast fashion’s weak greenwashing attempts and empty promises to be more sustainable, but they never address the crux of the issue which is overproduction. They will never reduce production as that ultimately means a dent in their profits. But they’ve noticed that the resale market is threatening their profits.

Some have shown that they're aware of the volume they produce, and how much of their clothing ends up back in recirculation, by launching reselling platforms to capitalise from those who are wanting to sell on their garments. It’s a nod to the fact that they know they make a shit ton of clothes. They want to encourage people to get rid of last season's trends, pocket a commission & encourage you to buy more from them.

Don’t fall for their trap & give them your money AGAIN - use online platforms like eBay, Depop, Thrift+ and Vinted to recirculate your unwanted things. Alternatively, you can also swap with friends and family and explore local charity and vintage shops.

8. The wait makes second hand feel even better

Having next day delivery on fast fashion websites means the mentality of ‘I want it now’ makes buying new far too accessible and easy to buy on a whim. Do you find yourself being Influenced by an ad, haul or email newsletter?

Fast consumption affects the brain. Research shows that dopamine surges when anticipating a new purchase. For some people, this “pleasure” rapidly declines, sometimes as soon as they’ve clicked to make an online purchase, and they need to repeat the process to experience the same “high”.

Fast fashion is designed to keep us chasing that high. So we need to slow down to give these monster brands the middle finger. They don’t want us to think. They just want that cold hard cash, and that repeat business.

By shopping second hand, you’re shopping slower and (hopefully) making more measured decisions as the gratification (purchase) won’t be as instant as so many fashion websites. Sustainable fashion is all about slowing down, and saying goodbye to fast fashion.

9. Second hand is more unique

When shopping preloved and vintage, you’re more likely to come away with looks that are unique and special, with your own stylish twist. It’s unlikely that you’ll find someone wearing the exact vintage jacket or dress as you, so you can be confident that your look wouldn’t be easy to replicate… but hopefully inspire others to thrift and find epic finds just like you.

Thrift store finds will always have the edge over fast fashion items. There’s nothing worse than turning up to an event and seeing others dressed in your same outfit, straight off the homepage of the fast fashion brand that hammered you all with the same ad.

10. Shopping second hand is easier than ever!

When I first began buying preloved, eBay was the place to go and depop was the new kid on the block. Now there are so many online places to source second hand with helpful filters to help you find exactly what you’re after, and better shipping options.

If you’re concerned about things not fitting, always ask for measurements to ensure that you’re reducing the risk that things won’t fit. Or search for brands where you’re confident you know your sizing in their garments.

More vintage shops and second hand markets are popping up so if you prefer shopping in person so you can try on items, you’re spoilt for choice. This is of course dependent on your location and accessibility - which leads us into exploring thrift privilege and how this can affect someone’s means to purchase secondhand.

Second hand clothing: The bad and the ugly

The Bad: Understand thrift privilege & hold judgements on those unable to shop second hand

Although thrifting has quickly become mainstream and many scream from the rooftops to buy second hand, not everyone has the same privilege or access to preloved.

It’s important to remember that everyone’s circumstances differ so you simply cannot judge or lay guilt on those who aren’t able to shop secondhand. Buying second hand and thrifting can be a privilege and we should all remember that not all have the same accessibility.

Financial situation, geographical location, physical and online access, time, sizing - so many factors can come into play. And when there is no sustainable alternative to buying new, who are we to judge when someone on lower income has no choice to go cheap and new to clothe themselves and their family.

We can only hope that legislation comes into play with these endless unethical fashion brands to do something about the fashion industry being the second most polluting industry to oil and gas.

The Ugly: Second hand or new, someone always pays

Although shopping second hand is a great sustainable alternative to buying new, it comes with its ugly side. With the sheer volume of clothing in the world, not all gets recycled or resold, no matter how much we invest in second hand. There is literally too much in the world for all garments to end up back in a closet… so where do they end up?

Tonnes end up in landfills and clogging the waterways and landscape of those in the Global South, destroying their environments and damaging the quality of their lives. Ghana has become known as fast fashion’s dumping ground. The River Volta has been severely damaged from the out of control trade in second hand and fishers come home with more clothes in their nets than fish.

Ghana imports about 15 million items of secondhand clothing each week, all donated from countries like the UK, US and China, to be sold at Kantamanto - the world’s largest second hand clothing market. The huge market has a plethora of familiar high street labels like H&M, Levi, Tesco, Primark, and some items still even have their charity shop tag still attached.

The quality of second hand being passed to Ghana has deteriorated massively over the years. Which means they can’t sell them on or upcycle, and it ends up in landfills or even infiltrating their lives completely. Old Fadama is no longer the vibrant and thriving community it once was. It’s become the largest unsanctioned dump for clothing waste leaving Kantamanto, and the 80,000 people who live there are now having to build homes on layers of rubbish (The Guardian).

The fashion industry, whether it’s new or second hand, always has a high price. Whether it’s the garment workers, the planet or those who are forced to live in the waste the Global North creates, someone or something always has to pay.

The last thing you need to know about buying second hand clothes and sustainable style:

It’s important to remember that shopping second hand isn’t a blanket solution to sustainable style. It’s a great way to BUY clothing, but in order to become more sustainable, it’s all about reducing your overall consumption. And that includes your second hand consumption.

Overconsumption and overproduction is the crux of the issue. It’s what’s clogging the waterways, it’s what keeps people in factories working for pennies, it’s what leads to communities being turned into landfills. Buying second hand can be our little uprising against fast fashion business models, but the volume of waste that’s still being flung into landfills is only getting worse.

Repair, reuse, recycle - all these important approaches to clothing can help extend the lives of our garments and reduce the amount of new purchases. No one is perfect, but taking care of our clothes and fixing where we can is ultimately what we need to pivot to in order to have sustainable style.

It also isn’t on individuals to shoulder the guilt and no one is perfect - it's near impossible to be the perfect sustainability role model. Legislation is needed and governments need to put their foot down, and introduce rules and regulations to both production and workers rights.

We can only hope and pray for a transition to more conscious and ethical consumption, and responsibility being taken by our governments… but in the meantime, every little helps. If we can avoid buying new and consciously consume at a slow pace, then that’s the best practice when it comes to purchasing garments.

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This post first appeared on the Sustainable Fashion Week blog - June 2022