Secondhand shopping is a catchall term for buying things which are secondhand, pre-loved,
or which aren’t new from a supply chain – it’s a more sustainable way of shopping for items
in a way that reduces your personal impact on environment when you get new things. It’s
also interesting in its own way – due to a lack of things like seasonal sales, what you find
depends on what people have given.
Clothing
Secondhand shopping is cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Fashion is one of the
highest-polluting industries – for example even just one wash of a synthetic-fibre item of
clothing can lead to it shedding hundreds of thousands of microplastic filaments into the
water system. Even after filtering, some will end up in the sewage system. In addition to
this, new seasons of clothes three or four times a year mean that old stock is destroyed or
simply thrown away.
One good source of clothing is that which you find secondhand in charity shops or thrift
stores. For the talented seamstresses and tailors among us, you can even make something
entirely new from what others might not have salvaged, at a much lower cost than
something from a high street store. With a little digging and a keen eye, you can even find
higher-end items that people simply didn’t want anymore. People who have changed
clothes size, or who simply want to restyle their wardrobe will often donate clothes which
are still in perfect condition.
Antiques
Secondhand shopping’s more austere cousin, antique shopping, doesn’t focus on clothes.
Whereas “vintage” stores might have clothes from times before, antique stores generally
stock collector’s items, furniture, pictures, advertisements, and bric-a-brac from years gone
by.
These stores are much more curated than charity shops, and if you want to furnish your
home with décor that doesn’t contribute more to wastage and environmental damage, this
is the way. Antique stores are more geared towards lovers of vintage finds and older styles –
and if you’re perfectly happy with that, then that’s fine. However if you’re looking for
something a bit more modern, some handiwork might be needed to refresh an item.
Reupholstering an antique chair, for instance, wouldn’t be out of the question if you’re
buying something “pre-loved”.
Garage sales & buying and selling platforms
Garage sales are what are typically thought of as the quintessential way of getting
secondhand deals. Somebody’s having a house clearance, and you can dig through what you
find and hopefully find something you like. It doesn’t always work out – sometimes it really
is just many years of accumulated rubbish, which is either broken or not any good. This is
where today’s smartphone platforms for buying and selling step in.
There are a number of apps which let you buy and sell online, and much like a garage sale,
you might find the one special thing that made all the searching worthwhile! Unlike charity
shops and antique stores, you’re also not confined to the majority of the products being of
one type – you can find anything you like, to fit any purpose. Clothes are sold on it, furniture
is moved from it, and you can even find meetups and swaps, so that everyone can share.
