My Final Year Project
HOW THE SECOND-HAND CLOTHING TRADE SHOULD FIT
INTO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY.
Background
Second-hand fashion lover, and proud thrift community member with my own Instagram-based second hand thrift and consignment store. I have been wearing, selling and up-cycling second-hand clothes since I was in high-school and have been support the industry wholeheartedly ever since.
My research
The fashion and textile industry is the 2nd largest polluter globally.
The industry mainly operates using a linear model of
extracting → producing → disposing of resources
< 11million tons (85%) of clothes going to landfills or incinerated
(Diddi, 2019)
Influencers promote sustainability in the beauty and fashion world, leading to the current boom in thrift culture and sustainable shopping. There is a current dip in the stigmatisation trend of the thrift industry. Stigmatization, here, refers to how society looks at the value of clothing. The research revealed that the present spark in interest is fuelled more by the consumers' desire to wear fashionable clothing than it is to help the environment.(Kiehn & Vojkovic, 2018)
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The second-hand clothing industry is a significant part of the fashion industry that creates a circular consumption model
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The Problem I identified
SECOND-HAND CLOTHING STIGMATISATION AND FLAWS
Many people face concerns about hygiene and the proper sanitation of second-hand items. (Munir, 2020)
People who are neutral or even pro-second-hand have expressed the assumption that second-hand clothing has hygiene concerns. (Warrington,2022)
Fashion and the value of clothing is also very much linked to social status.
The fast-fashion mentality contributes even more to wastage. (Brydges, 2021)
The is a lack in accessibility and consumer awareness.
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How can challenging the hegemonic view of thrift culture benefit the circular economy?
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( in other words )
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There is a need to promote second-hand clothing as a sustainable practice that aligns with the circular economy. (Mcneill, and Moore, 2015)
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