'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 am a massive secondhand fan. Not because of financial reasons as we could easily buy all new if we wanted too (not boasting, just stating facts) but because I hate what the fast fashion brands are doing to the planet. I would much rather have good quality second hand than poor quality new.

I refuse to buy new for World Book Day, or Halloween, ot any of the "learning festival" crap that school comes up with. All of the synthetic, cheap, poorly made costumes are going to be in landfill by Easter.

Our local charity shops have some fabulous bargains - any many items handed in unworn or and with the tags still on. Best bargains include a Hobbs 100% wool coat for £13 (new) and a very lightly worn Cos top for £7. I volunteer in one two mornings a week and we get such lovely things coming in, we are very lucky.

I don't think though that charity shops ahve a "duty" to make seconds affordable - charity shops have one aim which is to raise as much money as they can for their cause. If we can sell a Ted Baker dress for £20 that's what it will get priced at to maximise income. Obviously things from Primark, H&M and the supermarkets are priced accordingly, £2 - £3 for a cheap and cheerful top.

Another round of applause for MrsDV. I don't think many of the posters on this thread actually get the concept of only buying things you need and having no spare money for cashmere jumpers, however much of a bargain they are.

It is definitely easier now to build up a functioning wardrobe of new clothes than it was 20 years ago from places like Asda and Primark and unlike charity shops they have a range of items in the sizes you need so you only get exactly what you're after and do so with relatively little hassle.

Most clothes are made in sweatshops, including clothes that cost a lot of money. All of the high street chains are supplied through this method. The mechanism whereby this is done is something that is way beyond the control of someone in the UK raising a family on £13 k a year and it's missing the point to berate them about it.

The thing is,for the price of secondhand clothes in charity shops, you could buy new. They are so expensive.

However, I bought dd designer clothes, secondhand for a fraction of the price, from e bay.

@TheFirstMrsDV

^I think people are making too much of 'quality'. There is very little difference between Primark quality and shops further up the high street chain.
You have to spend a lot more to get to the point where clothes are 'quality'^

I'm not sure that's completely true. I've bought similar t-shirts from H&M and White Stuff. The White Stuff ones have lasted better - they wash better, keep their shape better, the stitching is better. H&M cost £12, White Stuff £25. Now, I'm not saying the White Stuff t-shirts are twice as good, but they are lasting well while the H&M ones are just for layering now.

Same with my White Stuff jumper vs one I got from Tesco. It washes beautifully, hasn't bobbled and doesn't make me static.

And some things it's just a case of better fit. I find Per Una jeans are a good fit for me now. I've just bought my third pair from a charity shop, none of them cost more than £4. In my experience Tesco and Sainsbury's jeans don't fit me at all well.

Well you know, Aeroflot, charities need to maximise their incomes - those Haitian prostitutes don't pay for themselves. Not to mention the massive executive salaries and thousands of chuggers ripping off pensioners - they need paying too.

Don't expect to find anything decent though - by the time you've got in there it's all been picked over by the sahms doing their two hours a week stints in between pilates and derma sessions.

Exactly MrsD, you hit the nail on the head. It's usually poor people who buy from charity shops, some of tge cheap items items are just a couple of pounds less than a new Primark top, so they are going to go there.

I won’t wear secondhand clothes, personal choice and have no issues with other doing it. I tend to buy most of DCs clothes from H&M, they like the stuff and it’s pretty good for how cheap. They have socks from primark but not other clothes because I find it shrinks really quickly. Rest of the stuff comes Sportsdirect. But only when it’s on sale. When I think about it I have never paid full price for clothes as I always buy them on sale.

Totally Harold, as one poster tells us that is what she does, so all that's left is old toot that nobody wants.

I actually know women who do it Aeroflot, and then go on about what bargains they've got. None of them need to buy second hand - it's just another way of acquiring more stuff.

The charity shops round here only sell tiny amounts of kid's clothes or none at all. They must get tons of kid's clothes donated. What do they do with them?

In my experience we do get lots of children''s clothes donated, but lots aren't fit for sale. We get lots of outfits for babies under about 9 months in immaculate condition, or never worn. For older children, clothes tend just not to be worth putting out, they're too worn, too bobbled, too stained, buttons missing or just really misshapen. We often get things like coats, ski wear, party clothes, hoodies which are worth selling but lots of stuff has been too well worn before it gets to us to sell.

The charity shop across the road from me they take everything, Stained or not, then they recycle it or send it to Africa. They tend to have more kids stuff than they do adults. I usually donate my kids clothes they have grown out of. My stuff never b3caus is usually wear it until it’s no good.

Or charities are getting savvy, they save their best pieces and auction them on e bay. Or people are less likely to give their high end items to charity, but put them on e bay. I am now very weary of the major charities, especially the saleries that are paid to executives of them, and the corruption (Oxfam), that can go on within them. I prefer to donate to smaller local charities instead.

I try to buy furniture new, but expect it to be forever furniture. I may upgrade the computer desk at some point but it will go to ex as it wsa his originally.

clothes are worn itl they wear out, then are used for rags, cleaaning cloths.

clothes that are usable are sent to charity, or back to my friend to do the fourth boy. (her eldest two, mine, her youngest)

I buy my cl9othes from the charity shop if possible, though have had some new as presents.

all that's left is old toot that nobody wants

Hardly. There were two of us sorting this morning, both dress sizes 14-16ish. We had two bin bags full of the most gorgeous stuff - Hobbs, Reiss, Karen Millen, Viyella, Jaegar - all size 8 to 10.

Nobody would ever buy things which don't fit them. (Or if they do, they have a problem).When you're dealing with donations of adult clothes from size 6 to size 26, probably 85% of what you're seeing wouldn't fit you anyway!

And yes to the accessories - we get lots of scarves donated, everything from modern cotton scarves from chain stores to vintage silk and hand knit woollen ones. Bags are a bit hit and miss, we get a lot of counterfeit ones donated which have to be binned. Today we had a Radley which was obviously very well loved and not in great condition, but it went out for a tenner.

But in order to have the option of buying from a charity shop, second-hand, etc. someone has bought it new!

The above, times 100.

It always exasperates me how on these threads up pop posters who breeze about why would anyone buy new. Well, you'd have a pretty poor choice of stuff in a charity shop/ebay if everyone was looking for second-hand stuff. Surely you should be applauding the schmuck buying the new Mini Boden clothes so you can take advantage some years down the line.

Or Harold, they sell them on e bay for a profit. I totally agree with you and MrsD. I went to a charity shop recently, and was not impressed with the clothes, old, bobbly, cheap, and charging nearly as much as new. I used to work in the community, and I supported an adult with a learning disability who loved CDs. We used to go to the charity shop for CDs, but I was shocked at the prices £3-4 for cd, you coukd get new from Amazon, it was shocking.

It depends on the area you like. If you frequent charity shops in central London, you are more likely to find high end good quality things, if you go to a poor areas where you can expect Primarni, Peacocks, or supermarket.

YADNBU
Apart from the fact you can get much better quality stuff for less second hand, and the environmental impact- how do they think cheap clothes are sold so cheaply?
By paying slave wages - as little as £50 a month.

I like designer clothes, but can't pay designer prices, so I buy secondhand off e bay, some of the clothes are in such fantastic condition, hardly worn. Last week I treated myself to a black Prada genuine handbag from e bay, almost new, cost £1500 rrp, for £120. I am an expert of certain designer brands, and over the years research them, so know what I am looking fir when I bid. I belong to ThePurseForum too.

So, 'sending clothes to Africa' is NOT an awesome idea (it floods local markets, is bloody awful for the environment and they're sold, not given away): www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2015/feb/13/second-hand-clothes-charity-donations-africa

Anything I don't, need, goes to charity or friends.

The zip broke on a dress of mine. A new zip and repair was so expensive I may aswell have bought a new one

Oh god yes Fishinthesink! I used to live in a fairly rural part of east Africa and worked for a school that was struggling to support itself financially. At one point our main donors totally withdrew funding and decided to send us a massive container of second hand clothes instead. It almost ended the school! All lessons completely ground to a halt as all the teachers had to spend their days going through the container sorting clothes. Most of it was completely unusable (I'm talking ripped filthy clothing, even soiled underwear!) A few items were expensive/ designer but frankly the local people couldn't have given a shit and these pieces weren't worth any more than the cheap stuff. Our trips to market to try and flog clothes rarely even made us back the cost of the fuel! In the end I got as many choice items out as I could and shipped them back to England to sell there, then sent the money back to the school! It meant a complete loss of education for the kids and income for the school, all in the name of helping them become "self sufficient" . Made me so angry. Then the former donors wanted us to ship the container back to them at our expense, so they could send us more bloody clothes! We didn't and sold the container instead, just about broke even, but lost their funding completely after that. It almost bankrupt the school and meant that we had to let go every student not able to pay tuition fees, which was exclusively the most vulnerable students. So please please no one send clothes to Africa!

Oh my god Nordic people in Western countries think they are hoping by donating their clothes, when in fact, it is doing more hRm, than good. Wonder what tge donors did with the money, instead of spending it where it's needed, after hearing about Oxfam, it makes you wonder.