To think no one should be buying new clothes for young kids?

[Roxietrees]

With apps like vinted etc there really is no reason for parents to be buying new clothes for, say, under 8s. They wear them for about 5 minutes before they outgrow them, and there is SO much choice on vinted, even if you care about specific brands and style, you can get anything you want super cheap and in great condition. New clothes for kids is SO wasteful, and fast fashion, especially is massively contributing to the destruction of the planet. Not to mention forced child labour. AIBU to think new clothes for children under a certain age should be banned? (as if that’ll ever happen though). If more specifically children’s second-hand clothing shops started popping up I think it’d really help

@RoxietreesYou stated that your 4 year old has never had new clothes. Does this include shoes, socks and pants? I wouldn’t buy any of these secondhand for my children!

4 is actually about the age my children started wearing out their clothes rather than outgrowing them.

We have been lucky enough to get second hand stuff passed on from relatives and friends and the school operate a second hand system (have bought some new but mainly first year when I didn't realise I could borrow) so my DC have hardly ever had new clothes (though now I do get new underwear and have always had to get socks as they seem to get used/full of holes so quick). If I had to search charity shops and deal with vinted though I might not bother and find it more convenient to buy new.

Primark don't even use child labour anymore so I doubt they're into child slavery?

Matalan the other week was selling baby dresses for £2, no way would you get second hand stuff that cheap!
i absolutely hate charity shops, I can’t even walk through the door of some due to the smell!!!

I think many people are handing stuff down multiple times. I bought a ski jacket for DS1 when he was 6. It was a second coat as he also had a school coat, so it was mainly worn at weekends. 7/8 years later DS2 wore it for 2 winters. I then passed it down to my DNephew. 3 years later DNiece wore it. SIL passed it on to a family at their church. It was used by all three of their DC. That might be an extreme case, but I know other families where good quality coats, shirts and jeans/cords have served 4 DC. Nursery tops and joggers - not really.

Nope. I really enjoy picking out and buying nice clothes for my dc.

I’ve never used Vinted. I don’t buy clothes very often. Most of what I have is holey or threadbare, but I still hate buying clothes. Rarely buy anything new but at least I get the wear out of it!

I don’t remember buying my DC many (any) new clothes at all unless I was given vouchers. Everything was second hand, mainly from friends and family, and a few bits from boot sales. I do remember getting very excited picking out a new babygro in an indie shop for DC3 , because I so rarely got to choose new things for them. We had lots bought for us for DC1, and older cousins which meant we didn’t need to buy anything except shoes. Just as well because we were very skint!
It wasn’t not hard, I just couldn’t justify buying new when we had more than enough for them already.

Vinted wasn't around in our dc younger days but every time I got incredibly cheap stunning clothes secondhand from charity shop or baby sales I privately thanked the people who got them 1st hand.

Of course - they’ll always be someone on MN that has to criticise every last detail until you are their version of perfect - which is, of course, always unachievable 🙄

I think I’m doing better than most people. I buy new underwear because it’s underwear, don’t massively love the thought of some other kid’s sweaty bum in there.

I only buy 2nd hand for myself and my kids. Most new clothes from 'high street' stores are shite, they never hang right, the fabric is thin, seams and knees fall apart within months, made for pennies in hard up places. I think with 2nd hand, in my opinion, the fact that these clothes have been worn and loved and are still INTACT and look good, says more about the quality! Also I can't afford the best stuff new. The designer things, the well made and organic and classy clothes. But I CAN afford them 2nd hand and know they will last me a lot longer than some tat from h&m. I'm just glad someone is buying the good stuff before selling it on to me 😄

I think most people do a mix of both new and 2nd hand don’t they? I tend to buy things new that I know will get worn to holes (e.g leggings) but will defo check vinted for party clothes and such. I will never buy underwear or shoes 2nd hand for DC

Totally agree! We are destroying the planet. There are apparently enough clothes on Earth for the next 100 years. I wish more people would think about the pollution caused by the manufacture and disposal of clothes.

You are very unreasonable.

I love shopping in charity shops and the bulk of my son's wardrobe is secondhand - either charity shops or hand-me-downs from friends.

But I am very lucky that I don't work and I have time to scour the shops and the apps. I have the support network around me to pass the things on (which gets fewer and fewer as children get older because they wear them harder and for longer). I have the space to collect things I like when I see them and then store them. My household income is steady enough that I can spend the money on the clothes when I see them. I can walk to at least 7 charity shops and I know my way around Vinted and FB marketplace.

Some people don't have these luxuries. Some people don't have the time to hunt down the right clothes in the right size and style (just because you're environmentally conscious doesn't mean you have to give up your preferences). Some people have to wait until certain costs etc are paid and certain payments are made to them before they can spend and by then the things they want may have been sold. Some people don't have the space to buy and store and you can't rely on the shops and apps having what you need when you need it i (I have been hunting for shorts for weeks and have found precisely 2 pairs). Some people can't access the charity shops (distance, lack of suitable shops, lack of transport) and may not be able to work an app. Some people don't have a network of people with children the right age/size/gender to pass on their clothes.

You buy what you can from where you can and pass it on. Everyone knows these shops exist and if they want to and are able to use them then they already are!

I've tried vinted a few times and it's just a faff and doesn't work out to be much cheaper.

I'll just stick with new.

No it's ok, I like the choice 😂 somethings I get from vinted still has tags on.

My DSC only wear clothes from vinted. They fit their clothes for one season, i.e. one winter or summer (max) and everything gets covered in grime 😃. It’s such a waste otherwise.

What’s your opinion? If you have kids do/did you buy all their clothes new?

I only use Vinted if there’s a bundle, the cost of postage often makes it not worthwhile.

Also if it’s second hand only you’d eventually get fifth hand or sixth hand clothes etc. which would be very worn out.

I've found some things are almost impossible to find second hand. Boys trousers in particular for my (tall) 4 year old. He rips the knees out of his trousers pretty often, which is presumably why there aren't many available from other small children too! Dresses, tops, jumpers etc are easy to find, and I generally find stuff for my daughter. School uniform is also difficult to find, and the shirts always get stained. I often can't even pass them down between children. I think people should buy second hand where possible, but I think it's harder than you are suggesting.

We are top of a clothes chain... DD1, DD2, cousins child, their cousins child, charity shop.

Someone has to be top of the chain!

I think part of the solution would need to be to end or dramatically cut fast fashion/cheap clothing - much better to buy a second hand well and sustainable cotton t shirt for £2 from vinted than a slave labour one for £1 from say primark, but most people will do the latter for lots of reasons.

My kids wear lots of second hand things passed between friends and family, usually of brands that are expensive to buy new. My DC2’s coat is from polarn o pyret, it was bought by my friend on eBay having had 3 previous owners (names crossed out on the label), my friend’s 2 kids wore it, then my DC1 and now my DC2, so it’s 7th hand! And still looks good.

I know someone who buys or receives all
of her 3 year old DSs clothes second hand and nothing ever quite fits and always looks a bit worn and drab. It drives his DGma crazy.

Not that it matters he is a child and he is healthy and happy. Each to their own!

Right now, I know you've taken a strop but I'm genuinely 100% not trying to criticise.

I'm trying to understand why, that if you're of the mindset that people should buy secondhand clothing because the material can be washed and re-used, why doesn't that include underwear?

The 'kid's sweaty bum' would be washed out of that material, just as the kid's crusty snot would be washed off the sleeves of shirts and jumpers, no?

And if the kid happened to shit themselves in the trousers their mum sold you on Vinted, you're still happy for your child to wear them as they've obviously been washed.

So not buying secondhand underwear doesn't make sense, does it?