'Clothes are cheap these days, no need for second hand'

[Upsidedownandinsideout]

Just read this exact phrase on a current thread re FB selling groups but see it again and again on here.

Am no saint, I still buy things from Zara as well as preowned, and haven't darned a sock in my life. Still I worry that if even the members here, who generally work hard to do the best for our kids and worry about their futures, think nothing of buying new school trousers every growth spurt instead of taking up or down, or buy a new costume (flown from China) every year for World Book Day, or can't see the point in bothering to sell a second hand item - that's not a great sign for the future of our environment, especially when our fast fashion industry means that there increasingly isn't much value in donated clothes either.

Realistically though, AIBU to even spend time worrying about this? I feel like a (small, full-time-working and time- and money-poor) drop in a very large ocean every time I think about these things.

I hate that mentality too. I buy furniture and clothes second hand (not all of if of course). I dislike the implications of a throwaway society.

I think it’s tough out there financially and have faith that we are generally mostly doing the best we can.

Most of my clothes are second hand and so were the DC'S - I get far more pleasure from finding a charity shop bargain than boasting about how much I've spent on an outfit. Much rather spend money on more interesting things like travel

I like the history you get with vintage items.

I agree op. It drives me crazy that so many people make zero effort to reduce their impact on the planet.

I prefer better quality second hand. I bought two tops for myself from priMark recently. The neckline has sagged after 2 wears.

I buy lots of second hand stuff in charity shops. Partly because it's cheaper, partly because it's helping out the various charites and partly because they're closer to my work and I can't be bothered going into Cardiff to shop.

Also the charity shops by me have decent stuff in. I've bought a fair about it clothes from Fat Face, White Stuff, Monsoon and so on.

Most of my daughters are second hand. We live OS, and I buy up bundles on local UK BSS sites and get my mum to go pick them up for me. I check it all out when I get home, then out what I don’t want to a charity shop and take the rest home for the next year worth of clothes. With kids clothes they can grow out of them so fast an item is only work a handful of times. Seems silly not to get it second hand and significantly cheaper.

The problem, currently, is that charity shop clothes are often more expensive than new clothes from the cheaper outlets (Primark, supermarkets etc) and so there isn't much incentive for people to buy second hand. So far as school uniform goes, people would generally rather buy a £3 pair of school trousers from Asda (in the knowledge that they can be cheaply replaced when they are outgrown/lost worn out/ paint-stained), than an expensive pair of trousers that could still get lost or ruined before being outgrown.

However, it is still worth donating clothes as even those which aren't saleable can be recycled.

I love ebay and local facebook groups. I rarely buy anything new for myself or my kids (except underwear) and we are all well dressed. Saves me £££££ and is a fun hobby looking for interesting bargains!

Why would I spend £16 for 3 brand new next babygrows when I can 10 lightly worn next babygrows for £8?

I bought a huge bundle of 3-6 clothes filled with next, John Lewis, ted baker, monsoon clothes (40+ items) for £20. They were barely worn. People who buy New are the crazy ones, if you look carefully you can get some absolute bargains with baby clothes!

I prefer new clothes (usually supermarket stuff though) but that is just because it minimises the amount of human interaction I have to make! I usually wear clothes to death out before getting rid.
I think for kids second hand is great - I can't believe that any child would wear any clothes out before they grow out of them!

Really cheap clothes don't last, and can look awful after just a few washes. It's that old thing "buy cheap, buy often".

Terry Pratchett gave us all the "Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

...and if we can get our fifty-dollar boots from the charity shop, and so help stop us killing ourselves with climate change, and help a charity at the same time, even better!

Money is tight in our house fairly recently. To ensure my DCs don't go without I often have to go with the cheapest option. That may mean new that may mean second hand.

I am mindful about environmental issues and always try to keep things out of landfill, reuse where possible etc. Unfortunately if a brand new item is cheaper then that is sadly the option I have to take.

YANBU to think the way you do. Sadly some people may not have the skills, time or resources to do any better.

@SoftSheen I got a lovely White Stuff jumper from a charity shop for £3.99. looked new, washed really nicely and is a lot nicer than £8 jumpers I've had from Tesco.

I do buy super market clothes, Sainsbury's do really good leggings, but pick and choose as a lot of the time the fit is a bit off or the fabric isn't as nice. I tend to like natural fibres, particularly in summer and the cheaper end of the market trends to have more man made. Primark in particular is bad for that in its children's clothes.

I don't have time to go shopping for second hand clothes - generally if I'm buying clothes it's a particular item that I need so I'll go somewhere I know has it. Plus as a pp said you can get stuff from Primark etc cheaper than second hand. Charity shops are priced quite high now compared to say 20 years ago.

I’ve got adult children these days and will admit to being a bit at seeing all the disposable dressing up clothes for sale in Sainsbury’s yestraeday ready for world book day,
It just seems so wasteful and imaginative. We used to scrabble together a witches hat for the world’s worst witch, or variation thereof, or sorting vaguely Victorian for Oliver or the little princess
Every bloody year.

I hate sewing so wouldn't ever be taking up or dropping down hems etc. You also can't do a bulk shop in a charity shop and i dislike worn or bobbled clothes.

So yes, I buy everything new and my children can choose their own tastes rather than what happens to be available second hand. We recycle everything though so it's not like to goes to waste. People have to buy new in order for others to be able to buy second hand.

Do you really spend time worrying about this? Or are you being flippant?

What would be the point in worrying? Worrying only affects you, and it’s not healthy for you. You can’t control what other people do.

I don’t buy second hand clothes- I don’t have time for the effort It takes. Quality is neither here nor there as I’m happy to pay for the quality I want.

Oh and yes I can’t sew either. Or rather, I don’t want to learn.

I buy most of my clothes second hand and for my daughter. Went to a table top sale last weekend and got her all the next size clothes. I love a good rummage! My mum and I then compare what we have bought her when we get home which is great fun. It's a lot cheaper for me and I can get some beautiful things. Got some great toys too. I love charity shops.

I have never bought second hand and won't. I would rather have my clothes, and my kids from new.

I don't like second hand clothes and wouldn't ever buy any but would were sth nice that a family member didn't want any more.

My old stuff doesn't go in the bin, I offer it to friends and family (for free) and donate what's left. I'd consider it a great waste of my time to put stuff up for sale and faff about unless it's a pretty valuable item (like a barely used designer bag etc).

DalekDalekDalek
I don't know about other kids, but my DS ends up with holes in his jeans before he outgrows them. Not 'worn out' but the charity shops don't want them. He has a hole in the knee of a pair of school trousers he's only had since September which should fit him into the next school year.

I was one of those children that only had 2nd hand clothes growing up, so I never had anything fashionable and the other kids made fun of me. That’s why I’ve got a complete aversion to anything 2nd hand.

I much prefer to have fewer good quality new things than cheap primark stuff that’s a bad fit and doesn’t last 2 washes. I tend to get things in sales, I usually have around 4 outfits that I can mix and match and when I’m finished with them I give them to charity.

For baby clothes I just get 5 plain white vests, leggings and tops in each size, she’s not really a sicky baby so I rarely have to change her outfit during the day.

I wouldn’t personally spend time worrying about the planet, someone has to buy new for there to be anything 2nd hand.