Secondhand September
I don’t shop much, but when I do I always try to go secondhand first. Why? Because the apparel and footwear industries account for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emission (more than air travel and shipping combined! yikes!). In fact, it is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. 108 million tons of non-renewable resources are used each year to produce clothing.
Benefits of buying secondhand
If we recycle unused clothes, that means we won’t be paying the price in the future. Buying secondhand helps keep textile waste out of our landfill and give clothes a longer lifespan. Aside from landfills there’s damage to the environment, loss of habitat for animals, and pollution of natural resources. (I’ll get into this in a future post..stay tuned!)
Buying secondhand also helps the community and builds a culture of recycling. Recycling clothes becomes a resource to people while helping those in need and the environment. It also saves you money. Shopping secondhand means that whatever price you pay is only a portion of the original price.
Secondhand fashion is a good way to deal with textile waste. When we wear an item that has already been produced, we are giving it a new life. In the long run, repurposing these items will help us slowly diminish waste in our own life.