GIVE OUR PLANET A (SECOND) HAND
Let’s grab our time machine, wipe the dust off of it, take it out of the garage and go back ten years, to the time where second hand shopping meant wearing grandma’s old clothes that were neither fabulous nor fashionable. Back then, for us women, trying to opt for an environmental friendly way of shopping meant giving up the full purpose of fashion: to boost our self confidence and feel empowered. There were, of course, viable options, with luxurious brands, where we could find good items that belonged to the roaring 20s or the groovy 60s. However, a trip to said places would cause our wallet to sob uncontrollably for the following weeks. It was then and there that the majority of us would shamefully make our way to Oxford Street and indulge in fast-fashion.
Thankfully the years went by and going “thrift shopping” is no longer a fashion suicide. On the contrary, it is where the best and most fashionable purchases take place. The English capital is witnessing a rise in the amount of vintage shops on its streets, more recently with the arrival of the German hit shop PickNWeight, which has opened its first English store in Covent Garden.
It was Saturday afternoon when I made my first trip to PickNWeight, a place that had recently filled my Instagram feed. The buzz was real and, for that reason, I wanted to know what it was all about. Millenials and Gen Z filled the place, some of the pieces they tried being from a time where they didn’t even plan on existing. There one could find not only beautiful dresses worthy of the upcoming festive season, but also warm and cozy jumpers to get us through the coldest months of the year.
This newcomer isn’t, of course, alone in the vintage store takeover of London’s streets. Just around the corner ROKIT offers a wide collection of clothes with a big variety of styles, So, I ask, why do insist in buying fast-fashion when, for the majority of our needs and desires, thrift shopping would do the trick and, meanwhile, help save us save our planet?
It should come as no surprise that the fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in our world, not only given the C02 emissions and water usage but also the environmental impact that transport and fabric dying, for instance, entails. We can give up meat, switch from plastic to metal straws, and even buy bamboo tooth brushes, but until fast-fashion becomes a thing of the past, and we replace our trips to the high street with trips to vintage or sustainable shops the fight for our planet’s welfare shall forever be a lost battle.
This post was contributed by Mariana. Mariana is from Portugal but is currently studying an MA in Luxury Brand Management at Goldsmith University.