Novel creative, Alice Wilby has been at the forefront of sustainable fashion styling long before it became trendy. She continues to work as a stylist, art director and copywriter and also lectures for CSM short course about the industry she has championed for ten years now. Read on to learn why she loves secondhand clothes shopping. A perfect way to celebrate #secondhandwardobeweek, don't you think?
In praise of Preloved.
It’s official. Fashion is a dirty business. Second only to the oil industry as the world’s biggest polluter and kicking out more CO2 than aviation and shipping combined.
It’s also a waste of space. According to the Wrap report, UK consumers discard 11 million garments a week. While the Ellen Macarthur Foundation estimates that every second, a garbage truck of clothing is sent to landfill or incinerated.
Not to mention, it's a waste of resources. It takes an estimated 3’000 litres of water to make a t-shirt. That’s as much water as we drink in 3 years. When you consider that the average lifespan of a piece of high-street clothing is only 3.3 years, the environmental cost per wear of a piece of clothing is nowhere near justifiable.
So it comes as no surprise that the Environmental Audit Committee's report into the Fashion Industry has deemed its current business model to be completely unsustainable. This where our existing stock of preloved, secondhand clothing and deadstock really comes into its own.
I have always found a magic in secondhand clothing. It has a transformative power that the cookie-cutter, high street can never muster. Each piece of preloved clothing speaks to the storyteller in me, allowing me, as though by osmosis, the chance to escape into another world.
The first vintage 70’s leather jacket I bought when I was 15 and wore proudly while my contemporaries were all wearing Naff Naff puffers, lent me a swagger all my own. The 60’s lemon-print wiggle dress I picked up when I was 18, helped me channel my inner Marilyn and the 1950’s wine-red, floral-print, taffeta swing coat I brought back from New York when I was 21, made me feel like I was dolled up for a night on Broadway, even when I was just down the pub.
Hunting down these beautiful, one-off pieces has long been my favourite way to shop. Never knowing exactly what you might find when you head out, offers a thrill no high street shopping binge can match, at least for me.
Yet today, back in this world, with all the environmental destruction the manufacturing and disposal of new clothing is wreaking on the planet, buying #secondhand also offers up a chance to help stave off some of the destruction.
With an estimated two thirds of the harmful environmental impact of a garment happening in the raw materials and production stage, choosing secondhand clothing means that initial impact has already been committed. Buying secondhand also saves clothing from landfill, keeping fabrics, including the increasingly popular but completely unsustainable, polyester, out of the earth, where it will most likely never biodegrade.
If its been years since you ventured into a charity shop, put off by an uninspiring selection of tired old shirts, then let me reassure you, there are options out there for everyone.
Oxfam, the queen of the high street charity shop, have revolutionised their offering with a large and diverse, online shop. Housed in a giant warehouse, with rails and rails of cool, colourful clothing covering pretty much every decade and genre, items are carefully selected to reflect current trends. 80’s and 90’s designer brands, sit alongside contemporary high street and quirky one off vintage suits, dresses and accessories. Their collection of Burberry macs is envy inducing! Except of course they are for sale and can become yours!
Infamous for their eye catching, avant garde window displays, Traid’s selection of preloved clothing and accessories caters for men, women and children. Covering high street and vintage, Traid’s selection is all in beautiful condition and often practically new. A stark reminder of the short time most people carelessly keep their clothes, but also a real bonus for those of us who love buying something nearly new! They also stock sari’s and African clothing, making their offering inclusive to the communities they serve. They host in store events, helping you repair, care for and customise your clothing.
If you are looking to buy and sell, online platform Depop, has become the go to platform for the creative community to keep their clothes in circulation. Hosting designers, stylists, fashion students and the creatively curious, you can list items for your friends, buy from those who inspire you or simply set up shop to keep your old clothes in circulation with a brand new home.
After all, what is more sustainable than the clothing we have already made?
Alice x
Did you know that Novel Creatives has its own circular economy built into our platform? Check out our ReLifeCycle section.