It was near midnight on a Northern Line train out of Manchester Picadilly when I first dipped my toe into the world of pre-loved fashion. Manchester Arena had just disgorged its concert-going crowds into the cold night air, my daughter Katie and I amongst them. The train was jammed and we were standing wedged between music fans and other late night revellers somewhere between Deansgate and Salford.
Naturally, we were talking about the show: The headliners – amazing, the support act – well, let’s say interesting, I mean, I’d never heard bhangra fused with rap and nu-metal before. I am genuinely glad I experienced it, but I don’t think I’d choose to do so again. To be fair, Katie gave them a more positive assessment, so maybe I’m just too old. But as we talked, one thing was becoming increasingly apparent. This was the last gig for Katie’s beloved studded black UPVC biker jacket (it was that kind of gig – and no, I don’t own a studded biker jacket).
The jacket had not been cheap, but UPVC has a definite shelf-life before the plastic coating begins to separate from the cotton garment beneath. Flakes of Katie’s jacket were now fluttering to the floor like black snow. Whilst this was a little sad, we decided that if biker jackets could choose their way to go, a rock concert would surely be top of the list – their ticket to jacket Valhalla. Katie was considering getting a new one, but she had a dilemma.
She didn’t really want another plastic coated jacket, she’s studying biology at Uni and has issues with the use of plastics where reasonable alternatives exist, both because plastics are fossil fuel derivatives and because of the impact of plastic pollution. On the other hand she is a vegetarian and wouldn’t want a leather jacket, at least not a new one – but maybe second hand?
That was when I remembered a conversation with a colleague who had told me about Vinted. Vinted is an eBay like platform with a strong lean towards reselling clothes. She had said that she got a lot of her clothes pre-loved, and that it was a great alternative to fast fashion. I was aware of the issues with fast fashion (see below) but since I am very much not the target demographic, finding an alternative had never seemed very relevant to me. But now Vinted had piqued my curiosity.
In just minutes I’d downloaded the app. The filters allowed us to narrow our search to the right fabric, size, condition, brand and colour and within a few minutes I’d clicked to buy a real leather replacement for a fraction of the price of a new jacket, UPVC or leather. We went home happy.
Of course everyone loves a bargain, and I’m no exception, so having grabbed the jacket for a great price I wanted to see what else I might find, but also to dig a little deeper into the ethical issues around fast fashion, pre-loved, and Christian stewardship of the environment.
Here’s what I found:
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than aviation and maritime (to which it contributes) combined. Modern fabrics like polyester are derived from fossil fuels but natural fabrics don’t get a free pass either. Leather and wool are associated with the carbon intensive meat industry. Arguably they’re byproducts of an industry which would exist anyway, but since they are very profitable byproducts it isn’t quite so simple. And cotton requires a quite staggering amount of water (700 gallons for a single T-shirt). There is water pollution from dying and treatment processes and then there is the waste.
This was truly eye-opening: Estimates suggest that around 30% of all clothes manufactured globally are never sold. Unsold waste clothing ends up discarded in landfills or incinerated.
Inevitably, even clothing which is sold eventually creates waste, and here the issue is amplified by a disposable culture, where many garments are worn only a few times before being discarded, and by the low quality of many fast fashion items which makes them unsuitable for resale. Clothing which isn’t simply thrown out and can’t be resold in the UK often ends up being dumped on the African market where some items find a new lease of life, but a great deal is unsellable and ends up contributing to a waste crisis in countries like Ghana.
I’m focussing on the environmental impacts here, but there are also concerns around the exploitation of workers and the presence of modern slavery in supply chains. The list of culprits goes far beyond fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu to include numerous high street and high fashion brands.
So, what do we make of all this?
For me the first takeaway was to reflect further on how thoroughly embedded we all are in a consumer culture which endlessly pushes us to acquire more and more stuff. Vinted is certainly not innocent here, its business model relies on high sales volumes so it gamifies the listing process by awarding badges for listing multiple items, or fast shipping. Even environmental charities are not immune: Before Christmas I bought a T-shirt from a well known organisation; subsequently I was bombarded by emails encouraging me to buy more of their merch. I get it, each T-shirt sold represents income for the charity, but on the other hand it also represents a real environmental cost.
This is all a far cry from being content with what we have, caring for the world God has entrusted to us, or loving our neighbour. I decided that simply buying less stuff – the reduce part of reduce, reuse, recycle – is the best thing I can do. So I try not to buy new items of clothing unless they replace items that have worn out, or I have moved on because I no longer wear them.
The second takeaway is that when I do need to buy more stuff (or at least persuade myself that I do), I should consider pre-loved. It won’t be right for every purchase, but it often will, saving me money and reducing the environmental cost. Charity shops are a great choice, as the money goes to a good cause, but online retailers like Vinted or eBay are worth considering because of the range of items available. Some manufacturers like Levi’s even run their own pre-loved schemes.
Buying pre-loved doesn’t eliminate the ethical issues surrounding the fashion industry, but it does reduce the harm a little and represent a more sustainable way to live.
By the way, Katie loves the jacket, now we just need a gig to go to.
James Watterson splits his working hours between his roles in fundraising at Christian Aid and as JRI’s operations manager. He blames his taste in music on having been a teen in the 80s. All opinions are his own.