Forget about flea markets in grandpa's clothes only! Nowadays the ways to buy second-hand clothes have increased, as has the supply of goods, and if you think it's not for you or it's out of fashion, you'll be pleased to discover that it's one of the latest trends.
The latest research by GlobalData, a company specializing in the analysis of the retail sector, shows that the used clothing market in the U.S. has reached a value of 24 billion dollars in 2018 and is expected to triple in the next 10 years.
Impressive data, especially when compared to the total turnover of fast-fashion brands, amounting to 35 billion dollars and with lower growth estimates.
In 10 years, the report says, in the wardrobe of American women 13% of the clothes will be second-hand, compared to the current 6%.
Returning to Italy, about half of Italians bought and/or sold used clothes in 2017 and the so-called Millennials (born in the 80s and 90s) are the most active than the average.
We are not only talking about clothes, but also other goods: among the most important in terms of value there are: Engines (€ 15 bn), followed by Home & People (€ 3.6 bn) and Electronics (€ 1.3 bn).
The reasons for buying used are varied but according to statistics it is mainly a matter of concluding a good deal with a significant saving (70%), being able to find unique pieces, antique or no longer on the market (35%), in addition to the possibility of winning the object of desires perfect for their needs and passions (10%).
On the other hand, you may want to lighten your weight after a sorting of goods that are no longer used (55%), buying new or used goods (21%) or earning a profit (19%).
In 48% of cases, the property is saved from landfill and used by its new owner until the end of its life cycle, 26% is collected and stored, and a small percentage is resold.
The third edition of the Second Hand Economy Observatory, as reported by the agency Doxa, shows how the Italian population is constantly interested in buying and selling used goods, especially online; on the other hand, there are more and more applications and dedicated sites, better if divided into categories of goods and various price ranges.
In particular, we buy a huge amount of clothes, equal to about 80 billion items of clothing each year, which are worn less than a dozen times each. Of these, about 85% goes to landfill and only 1% are recycled.
The fashion industry is thus one of the most polluting, with 20% of global water waste and 10% of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.
Traditional cotton crops account for 35% of the use of insecticides and pesticides, and only 0.5% of the cotton produced worldwide is organic.
This means that dressing is becoming an environmental problem: you produce a lot, you pollute a lot and then you throw away almost everything.
Riding the wave, more and more fashion sites are adding sections dedicated to vintage marketplaces and sustainable brands.
The latter include garments created with materials of natural origin, organic fibers, recycled or renewed re-fashion style dresses.
Remember that when talking about sustainability situations should be observed at 360 °, so in addition to the material, we should also take into account the conditions of workers, factories and the environment, because various fast-fashion brands are creating collections "sustainable" but maintaining the 52 seasons and their social standards.
Used purchase, as well as being currently the most popular trend, is a sustainable practice that saves visible and invisible resources.
On average, a circular model avoids the emission of 100,110 tons of CO2 every year, but if you want to make a concrete example, according to the Swedish Institute of Environmental Research (IVL), buying a simple used shirt, the saving is 7.2 kilos of CO2, or an amount equal to the production of 11 kilos of pasta, while a pair of used jeans save 33.4 kilos of carbon dioxide and a pair of sneakers 13.6 kilos.
To promote sustainable growth and interrupt the linearity of the classic production-distribution-consumption-rejection path, the hope is that everyone will understand the potential of the second-hand market and make good use of it.