Second Hand September — Pledge to NO New Clothes

on Sep 21, 2020 0 comments

Buying new clothes is like a dream come true for so many people but they never thought about what will happen to the old ones, ultimately throwing them in trash piling up the landfills. Globally 13 million tons of textile waste is produced all over the world. It’s a huge burden for the earth to handle it along with other trash we create. Nowadays shopping is just a click away and we get mesmerized by the sales and advertisements of branded clothes, and finally looping ourselves to get new ones without any actual necessity. To make us sustainable from unsustainable choosing second-Hand Clothing and abstaining yourself buying new could help positively. Second Hand September campaign encourages you to stop buying new clothes for the entire month of September.

What is Second Hand September?

Second Hand September is a campaign encouraging people to avoid buying new clothing for the entire month of September. It is organized by the charity firm Oxfam, which focuses on reducing environmental impacts caused by the fashion industry and making people aware of how to curb your fast fashion habits. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global annual carbon emissions. The Oxfam charity explains: “Join Second Hand September and pledge to shop only second hand for 30 days or more and sharing your pledge using hashtags #SecondHandSeptember and tagging @OxfamGB on Instagram and Twitter”. You can buy second-hand clothes from your nearby stores who provide second-hand clothes and small scale business to encourage them.

5 ways how to participate in the Second Hand September campaign

Make repetition a new trend

Decades have passed, generations have changed. Repeating clothes is not a taboo now. Famous celebs like Duchess Kate Middletown and Malaika Arora (not khan anymore) are proving that there is nothing wrong with outfit repeating. Mix and matching are the best to maximize your use of every single piece in your closet.

Love your clothes and make it last a lifetime, cherish and re-wear them.

Get clothes on Rent

Renting your clothes or taking clothes on rent is a good option to get grips with fast fashion. Being a highly polluted industry according to environmental aspects, the sharing of wardrobes makes sense. Getting clothes on rent means, you can have special dresses on special occasions without investing so much money. There are so many rental stores available in India that rent the dresses online and offline according to convenience like thestylease, stage3, Flyrobe, etc.

Make a Clutter-free Wardrobe

Clean and sorted clothes according to your need are meant to be a clutter-free wardrobe. It will clear space and make you abstain from buying new clothes which you might already have. Pick your clothes for charity which you don’t wear often, make sure it is clean and has no stains.

Repair, Mend, or Upcycle

When anything breaks in our house, we generally get rid of the old one and buy a new one. We never tried to fix that item for reusability, it is unsustainable. To endure a sustainable lifestyle, enliven your old clothes with new tricks like patching a hole in denim with a funky sticker. Cropping tired jeans into fabulous shorts, dying shirts into a new color, etc.

Share & Swap Clothes

We all have learned since childhood “sharing is caring”. It is true and evident that we should share our clothes with our friends and family. It will expand our wardrobe to select dresses according to occasions and restraining you from fast fashion.

Benefits of buying second-hand clothes

Big help to the environment: Buying second-hand clothing could be a big help to the environment. Fashion industries release 10 percent of global annual carbon into the environment. Studies have shown that 60 percent of clothes are made from synthetic fiber(polyester, acrylic, nylon) around the world. It takes hundreds of years for complete disposal.
Money Saver: Switching to second-hand clothing would save a lot of money. Second-hand cloth in almost new conditions could save you hundreds. So spend wisely.
Promoting sustainable fashion: Second-hand clothing promotes sustainable fashion, it works as a catalyst in the slow fashion movement. Sustainable fashion means to have second-hand clothing and clothing made ethically and with eco-friendly fabric like Tencel and hemp.
Second-Hand clothing saves resources: Once invested resources on one article of clothing take so much water and energy. it can only be consumed by second-hand clothing strategies not by buying new ones. Clothes should be used for their whole life cycle.
Less pollution: Cotton fabric needs hundred of gallons of water to produce, and in-process chemicals are used to make it available for textile industries. Pesticides are used in processes that go to nearby water bodies and contaminate the water. Synthetic fibers release nitrous oxide which is 300 times harmful than carbon dioxide. Second-hand clothes to save earth from being a landfill of clothes.

Online places in India where you can buy/sell second-hand clothes

References

“Second Hand September.” Oxfam GB, oxfamapps.org/secondhandseptember
Stanton, Audrey. “What Does Slow Fashion Actually Mean?” The Good Trade, The Good Trade, 2 Mar. 2020, www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-slow-fashion.
Leontr, Leonela, et al. “Why Thrifting Is Good for the Planet, Not Just Your Wallet.” Student Environmental Resource Center, 17 Mar. 2014, serc.berkeley.edu/why-thrifting-is-good-for-the-planet-not-just-your-wallet/.
Walden, Lisa. “A £35 Lost Stock Box Sends You Brand New Clothes That Have Been ‘Cancelled’ during the Pandemic.” Country Living, 13 June 2020, Url