Are you in love with second-hand pieces?
What’s your opinion on second hand fashion? Are you open for it? Maybe your Son de Flor linen dress comes from a second hand channel?
A few times we’ve mentioned the love and passion our GM Indre has for second hand fashion. Before we jump on a video where Indre shares some of her Son de Flor & second hand items pairing tips, let’s have a look at some quick second hand market facts and see if second hand goes hand in hand with sustainability in fashion field.
Would you believe that second hand market is forecasted to be a 64 billion market by the year 2024?
The market is growing tremendously, probably because worldwide our closets are already filled with so many apparel pieces we are not wearing or not even managing to wear before they are already out of fashion.. In a way it feels second hand fashion is highly influenced by fast fashion industry and it’s not changing at all our consumption patterns, if it’s easily accessible & irresponsibly disposable.
However, many consumers choose second hand as a form of avoiding to finance the fast fashion directly, saving money, looking for affordable exclusivity or helping the planet. Would you believe if everyone bought one item used instead of new this year, CO2 wise it would equal to 66M trees planted, water wise it would equal to 1.25 billion showers saved and waste wise it would equal to 18 thousands of garbage trucks less.
Yes, these are the numbers, it takes 75 lbs of CO2 to produce the average pair of jeans, 700 gallons of water to make a new T-shirt and 64% of the 32B garments produced each year end up in a landfill (reference).
And even though we still have doubts about consuming/disposing ratio of second hand clothing items as much as whether it’s ethical to buy fast fashion via second hand shops, research states that shoppers feel as good about buying second hand clothes as they do about adopting a puppy!
We believe in conscious decisions whenever fashion choices appear, whether it means buying sustainably made piece, a fast fashion or a second hand item.
We hope our timeless Son de Flor dresses will never end up in a landfill, firstly, because they are so versatile, beautiful and made with love, secondly, because they are pricey, and finally, because their sentimental value grows with time! If they do, though, because they are made of 100% natural linen, it’s heart-warming to know they will at least biodegrade within weeks.
