'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.

Helping, not hoping, doh.

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

Said it for me

Yup, everyone wants to save Africa without ever setting foot on the continent or actually asking African people what they need. They just think "I'm from a developed country so I know best". Honestly, I could tell you stories of western charities and voluntourists "helping" that would make your toes curl. I mean, big operations like oxfam probably get it right more often than not because they have lots of experience, but there are lots of tourists who come for a week, spend 2 days at a project feeling worthy, climb Kilimanjaro, go to the beach, and come home convinced they know what Africa needs and start their own charity, which does much more harm than good, is always more targeted towards virtue signalling than actually meeting people needs, and then they get bored and forget about it 6 months later leaving all the local people they've roped in and made promises too picking up the pieces. Cannot tell you how many times I saw this happen.

Sorry to derail the thread!

I love second hand however I've been a bit put off recently as the last few charity shops I've been to have been over charging by a lot. Bobbly very worn coats for £20 that are a make like Mataram, I saw a pair of welly boots that were £25 in one!

Also I've recently been gifted a lot of baby clothes but they smell very badly of cigarette smoke which has put me off jawing them.

Agree with MrsDV on this one.

Rummaging is fun if you have time and energy. Being forced to wear only second hand with the limited choice that entails is no fun at all. Neither is being teased at school or having let down hems visible on your school trousers.

We are fortunate enough to be able to buy new. We do get second hand stuff from friends and my parents get some amazing stuff (often new) from their local cara boot for pennies, but we have the luxury of being able to do that rummaging for the bargains and the nice stuff.

I didn’t when I was growing up. And it wasn’t much fun at all. Agree there’s a class issue here.

But she wants the experience of off the peg fast fashion. Not sure how to handle this one, as I, like the OP, really do worry about the impact of clothing manufacture on the environment

I'd show her a documentary about sweatshops and explain why you don't support that industry.
Children will always want to copy their friends, but if she realises a child her age worked all night in awful conditions to sew beads onto her dress, she might change her mind.

If she wants the shopping experience, can you take her to an ethical shop and let her choose a couple of things with her birthday money? Lots of companies do pay workers a fair wage and provide good conditions. She will get fewer clothes for her money, but I think that's a good learning experience. The UK is too focused on quantity and consumerism.

How can it not be a class issue when you get people waxing lyrical about how lovely second hand cashmere is compared to cheap (but essential) items made from nasty fabrics

Because a secondhand cashmere jumper will last a decade or more if you treat it well. Whereas a new acrylic one will last half that. Synthetics like polyester and nylon deteriorate over time and start to feel and smell strange. I used to buy jumpers from Next, within a couple of years they were so bobbled and shapeless they were fit for the bin.

I’ve lived in various places in the uk - the chances of finding a nice bit of second hand cashmere in the posh bits of Edinburgh are somewhat higher than in the rougher end of Barnsley.

The choice in charity shops tends to reflect the area it’s in.

Also it doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach - I doubt there are many people who are buying exclusively second hand and never buy anything used. As others have pointed out, if nobody ever bought new, there would be no second hand to buy.

I'd say about 25% of what I own was bought from a charity shop - not all used though. Also agree that it's fairly obvious that charity shops in more affliuent areas get a better quality of donation. Stuff does get moved around the bigger chains too and sent where the most money can be obtained for it, or sold online.

We had some lovely M&S cashmere mix jumpers in last week, so well-made and soft. Priced them at £8 each and they were gone within the hour. I would also recommend checking out the gents' rails if you're after cashmere, lambswool or similar - does it really matter if a jumper or cardigan is a man's one?

Nordic that is really sad, best just donate, instead of empty promises.

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

I buy new things as well as secondhand. I'm not against new, just the mass-produced cheap disposable clothes from companies who exploit their workers. If you can afford to buy new, at least buy good quality stuff, from ethical companies, and sell on or donate when you've finished with it. The more good quality clothes in circulation, the less people will rely on sweatshop stuff.

As for a cashmere sweater, how is it less 'essential' than an acrylic one? It's still a sweater, just much warmer and lasts 5x longer.

Ring when you have to clothe your family on a tight budget, you will pick Asda over John Lewis everytime. For one pair of Boden boys trousers costing £27, I could get DS 4 pairs of school trousers from Asda with that. Instead of throwing it away, after kids have grown, I give it to friends with younger children, or charity.

Oh when I was a bit richer, I bought DS who was a toddler at the time, some Boden trousers, after a few wears, they had massive holes
in the knees, that's never happened to his H&M or Asda trousers. I had to chuck them, as I could not give them away, talk about disposable fashion eh.

It does not matter, they are all made in developing countries. I went to the Ralph Lauren outlet shop in Bicester, labeled said made in Vietnam. I am sure the conditions are Ty he same as the Asda and Tesco factories. Oh and the Boden trousers said made in Sri Lanka. I would expect made in the UK, for their prices.

There is nothing wrong with buying second hand clothes, I grew up in them myself, but there is also nothing wrong with buying new.
I haven't RTFT and I'm sure other have pointed it out but there would be no Next/Boden/Monsoon/etc for cheap prices in charity shops if everybody went second hand for the sake of the environment.

All this talk of x amount of y fabric uses thousands of litres of water to produce stuff narks me though. No it bloody doesn't. It may utilise that amount of water but it's transitory. It's all part of the water cycle. People talk as if any water utilised in growth and/or processing disappears, never to be seen again, which is fucking ridiculous. The same can be said when people site environmental reasons for not eating meat, a cow doesn't hold all the water it ever drinks. I think we need to be careful about polluting the water when we utilise it but all water is recycled and, with Earth being a closed system, always has been.

I read something interesting in the African Press about second hand sales in Africa.
The industry provided many people with very decent incomes.
African people on the whole seemed all for it.
It seems to be The West telling them that its bad.

This is interesting

www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/saturday/Making-a-living-off-mitumba/1216-3342796-kgxre6

www.thecitizen.co.tz/oped/1840568-2697724-yf0o2u/index.html

If you want to read a bit more on the subject.

Its really not as simple as some believe.

@DontMakeMeShushYou, exactly, it's such a wonderful idea!

Many of DS2's clothes are 4th hand! They were worn by two cousins then DS1 and are still going strong in DS2. I also buy stuff second hand on ebay and the occasional item in charity shops. I don't buy often in charity shops though as often the prices are more than the item brand new (Primark t-shirt for £3.99 when they are £2 new for example) or they are often tatty and faded.

The clothes that have lasted through several children do tend to be the more expensive brands made of better quality fabrics with sturdier stitching. The rest of the stuff I buy is Primark/supermarket type clothing which may last two children if I'm very lucky, but usually won't. I hate the idea of throwaway fashion, it's more that I'm on a low budget so can't spend tons on stuff that will be outgrown quickly.

I still have clothes that are 20 years old in my wardrobe - I'm lucky they still fit I suppose, but I'm also not into high fashion so my clothes won't be so dated they need chucking after a year. There's so much waste and anything that can be done e to reduce this is good imo.

Where i live baby clothes/costumes/furniture do the rounds, lent, given then passed on again, given to chhhharity shops and very occasionally Ebayed. I love seeing DDs stuff being worn again it makes me all nostalgic annd Grandad is always casing Waitrose for nice John Lewis stuff and Joules when DM drags him there so the quality along with DM's beloved M&S findings is good enough to last apart from Joules which has gone to shit lately
I buy all my stuff from chazzers or Ebay because i have champagne tastes and Panda Pop budget and love the thrill of a bargain! The thing that bothers me is useless coat hangers ie on knickers and i always take them off in the shop the hangers i try to keep my knickers on or take back the hangers if ordering online. And don't get me started on my worries for the future when i see shelf after shelf of Lol Doll/NumNom/blindbag landfill in waiting.

I would never buy shoes 2nd hand.

My kids do wear some things that have been given to us by friends. And i appreciate them thinking of us when they have a clear out.

I have tried occasionally selling things I have bought them but can’t be bothered with the way people mess you about. So now I give away everything - mostly to charity shops.

I don’t shop in charity shops for myself or the kids. It’s not for me.

I buy mostly from supermarkets so not super expensive although do like them to have some nicer things too which are a bit more fancy.

I love clothes. Bloody love them. I buy second hand as much as I can (not just charity shop). All sorts of reasons but partly because it means I can afford stuff that would otherwise be out of my league. My last purchase was a Margaret Howell jumper that would have cost over £200 new.

But.
It's totally random and looking for anything specific is hopeless.
it takes a lot of time. I have to travel to get to the best ones (the nearest are a bit shit) and I have to call in regularly because the good stuff flies.

I do it because I enjoy it and treat it as a hobby. Because I have no longer have small children or parents to think about. And because I already have a lot of clothes so, if I see something great, there's a good chance I'll have something to go with it.

It's completely different from having to buy your whole wardrobe that way because you can't afford to do anything else. No comparison.

I bloody love a good trawl in charity shops. Now and again I'll head to the more affluent areas and I've picked up some amazing bargains.

Absolutely no point getting new baby clothes, since they only get worn for a few times generally before they grow, and are regularly puked and pooed upon. I get older girls a mixture of second hand and new. Eldest has a penchant for a certain expensive brand, which no way am I buying new!