Research: Is shopping second hand a good solution?

-
Throughout my research, I have found that second hand shopping is mentioned a lot as an alternative to fast fashion so I have looked into whether or not buying second hand is actually a good way to buy clothes.
I read 'Is buying vintage clothing the most eco way to shop?' and found that more people are now buying second hand (64% of women willing to buy second hand pieces compared to 45% in 2016). The article talked said that this shift could be due to increased awareness of sustainability and also that vintage/second hand clothing fits with the originality that people want to show on social media and is good for the environment as clothing is recycled and stops people from buying as many new items.

'Second-Hand Is the Answer to Sustainable Fashion, Says Oxfam' says that buying second hand is the easiest way for consumers to shop more sustainably but 77% of people in the UK want to shop second hand but only 27% actually do. It also mentions other alternatives to fast fashion such as clothes rental. This may be biased as it focuses on Oxfam saying that second hand shopping is the best, which could be because they want people to shop with them more.

These articles have been useful as they have shown that second hand shopping can be a good alternative to fast fashion that isn't as expensive as ethical sustainable brands.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Research: Consumer behaviour statistics

-
When writing my dissertation, I found that I was missing some statistics about consumers and their usage of fast fashion so I conducted some research to find out how fast fashion is consumed. I read a thesis about consumer behaviour characteristics in fast fashion. This research may not be very reliable as the sample was only small so it isn't very representative of the whole population that buy fast fashipn. The participants were also mostly Swedish so it is useful for seeing how fast fashion is consumed in places other than in the UK as most of my research has focussed on fast fashion in Britain. The thesis was written in 2010 so it might be out dated now, however, there has been little research into consumer behaviour with fast fashion so this research is useful for giving an idea of consumer habits. Shopping frequency decreases with age - most 13-18 shopped twice a month, 20-26 ranged from twice a week to twice a month, 31-39 shopped less than younger groups, once or twice a...
Read more

Research: Boycotting fast fashion

-
When I researched Fashion Revolution, I found that they don't think that boycotting fast fashion is the solution so I decided to research this further. I read an article by 'The National'  that showed a discussion between two 'fashion experts' where one thought that boycotting was good and the other thought that we shouldn't boycott. This article showed the harm that boycotting could cause as everyone not buying from fast fashion at all would put thousands of (mostly female) garment workers out of work which would cause poverty. The other person said that boycotting is good as it shows companies that their unethical practices aren't acceptable. This article was useful as it showed the pros and cons of both boycotting and not boycotting. The source has little bias as it shows both sides of the argument. I also read this article , 'Why boycotting sweatshop clothing is not the answer'. It talks about the ethical problems of fast fashion eg. child lab...
Read more

Research: Can the fashion industry ever be sustainable?

-
I wanted to look at whether it is actually possible for fashion to become sustainable. I was particularly interested in finding out whether consumers are willing to shop more sustainably and whether businesses would adapt to more environmentally friendly practices. I listened The Guardian's 'Today in Focus: Can the fashion industry ever be sustainable?' and made notes: London Fashion Week - recycled materials. Dress made from plastic bottles Zero waste pattern cutting - design process where pattern is cut in a way that every scrap of fabric is used Fashion is more than the clothes - also things in the supply chain Buttons made of plastic (oil) Fast Fashion developed because UK is big textile country, massive exporter of clothing. Fast Fashion has been developing since the industrial revolution. Cotton yarn became faster to make due to machinery. 'Fast Fashion was always going to happen'. Holes in self worth are filled by fast fashion Sustainable fashion -...
Read more