At one time or another, many people have bought an item from a charity shop, yard sale, second-hand store, or auction. A report for the 2020-2021 financial year showed that at least one used item ended up in the hands of 72% of people.
Buying used items like clothes, toys, jewelry, shoes, etc. does not necessarily mean that a person cannot afford to get the newer versions of these items. There are numerous reasons why people usually patronize thrift stores and used clothing marketplaces aside from cost-effectiveness.
One major reason why a lot of people opt for used items is their rarity. In most cases, used clothing lovers are more likely to find their desired vintage wear in a used clothing store than in a store that only sells new attire.
Numerous questions have been raised as to why people buy used items instead of new ones which they can also afford. This article is a comprehensive look at the importance of used clothing.
A Brief History of the Used Clothing Market
The sale and purchase of used items such as clothes have been in existence for as long as goods and trade institutions have generally existed. However, a history of a regulated used clothing market can be traced back to sometime around the nineteenth century. Throughout North America and Europe, the clothing market for the majority of the population was mainly composed of used garments (except perhaps for the wealthy).
Shortly after World War II, these territories experienced significant rebuilding efforts, which ushered in an era of economic growth resulting in broader income distribution, mass production of affordable clothes, and an increase in general purchasing power.
These factors caused a significant reduction in the demand for used clothes by the general public. Fast forward to the late 20th century and early 21st century, the demand for used clothing reached a new all-time high. In Germany, a 1960s-themed pop culture style became popular among young people. This style was heavily evident in German music, movies, and material culture. These sudden 21st-century trends set a high demand for used clothes as only there could one find authentic in-demand retro and vintage style garments.
In developed nations, used clothing markets became popular for the purchase of vintage, retro, and special garments that were not available as brand new. Developing countries, on the other hand, witnessed a mass importation of used clothes as there was an increasing demand for a less expensive source of clothing.
The demand for used clothing by these two distinct worlds can be itemized into the world of fashion (developed countries) and the world of thrift (developing countries). These distinctions are mainly a result of differences in industrialization and the size of the economy. An obvious fact from this demand for used clothes is that it enjoys attraction from both rich and poor dress-sense consumers.
How Buying Used Clothes Benefits You
The used clothing market is independent of the general fashion industry and is not controlled or regulated by any fashion house or body. Hence, buying used clothes holds several advantages that are separate from what is obtained in the brand-new fashion market.
Budget-Friendly
For many textile consumers, affordability is one of the biggest factors that determine what they will buy and how much they will buy. One of the most popular benefits of patronizing used item stores is that you will find different kinds of clothing pieces for amazing and unbeatable deals.
You do not need to break the bank to create a fashionable wardrobe. Items available in thrift stores come at steal-away prices as you do not need to pay full prices for them, sometimes not even up to half. Low prices make it easier to get used clothes for sale.
Even though clothes in used markets are cheap, they are not of lesser quality. Many of the clothes are made from the best quality materials, some coming from well-known and reputable luxury fashion houses around the world.
Wide Variety of Fashion Picks
Another benefit is that you get to choose from a wide variety of clothes all in one place. With used clothes, you get a very large array of styles to pick from, ranging from old and current trends like retro, classic wears, vintage, and plain simple pieces.
When shopping for used clothes, you will come across large selections of clothes made by different world-class brands. Visiting a used clothing market gives you the opportunity to find all the different brands in one place, sourced from their different specialized stores across the globe. You will find different styles, brands, and unbeatable prices at a used clothing market.
Better Quality Pieces
Before the advent of mass-produced goods and fast fashion materials, clothes were manufactured using high-grade materials with a much higher level of craftsmanship than it is now when everything is mass-produced with machines.
The beauty of shopping for used clothes is that you can still get this high level of quality at an even lesser rate than it was originally sold for. These clothes have already endured the test of time, and their quality ensures that they stand to be used for more years.
Fashion consumers may be enticed by some new clothes because they seem to be cheap (and still new). In most cases, cheap brand-new clothes often compromise on quality.
Purchasing poor-quality garments just because they’re new and cheap will cause you to buy another set of clothes soon because these kinds of clothes do not last long. They either wear out or fade. The better deal is to buy used clothes that pay off over time in the form of their longevity.
Why Buying Used Clothes is Good for the Environment
Now that we have seen some of the numerous benefits of buying used clothes, let us take a look at the environmental impact of used clothing and how the market affects our society as a whole.
When you shop for used clothes, you feel that you have successfully gotten the best value for a really impressive bargain. What you may not realize, however, is that you have taken very important steps toward protecting the ecosystem and maintaining a greener earth. The textile industry’s environmental impact is bigger than you imagine.
Fewer Clothes End Up in Landfills
In 1980, 4.6 billion pounds of clothing and textile materials were dumped into landfills by Americans alone. By 2000, the quantity of textile waste that was chucked into landfills had tripled to about 12.5 billion pounds. Now, imagine how many tons of clothes are wasted each year.
According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency, a massive 21 billion pounds of used waste clothing were disposed into landfills in 2015. That is how many clothes are wasted in a year, and this trend continues yearly.
Want to help reduce this mind-blowing figure of clothing waste that goes into the earth yearly? Buy used clothes. When you buy used clothes, you save them from being sent to the landfill, and the higher the demand for used clothes gets, the fewer clothes will end up in a landfill.
Helps to Save Natural Resources
Manufacturers of clothes and clothing accessories use raw materials sourced from natural resources. Some of these natural resources include wood, water, and land, which could take a very long time to renew, while others might not even renew at all. According to scientists, if the world continues at its present rate of oil consumption, we would only have an estimated 47 years of oil left.
The exploitation of natural resources for the production of new clothes is extensive. Water, for example, is one of these resources receiving huge blows from cloth production.
According to a 2018 report by the United Nations Partnership on Sustainable Fashion, almost 90% of the wastewater produced in the world comes from the fashion industry. WWF stated that to produce 1kg of cotton, 20,000 liters of water is needed; for relatable context, you need 20,000 liters of water to manufacture a single jean or T-shirt.
The production of new clothing items has a negative impact on the environment. The process of acquiring the materials needed for production harms wildlife and endangers the ecosystem. For these reasons, it is more ethical to reuse clothes. When you buy used clothes, you help reduce the need for the exploitation of natural resources.
According to a 2017 study by the Journal of Cleaner Production, which assessed the life cycle of a pair of jeans, a cotton t-shirt, and a polyester dress, it was discovered that quadrupling the average lifespan of these clothing items will result in a 75% reduction in freshwater used for dyeing and other textile manufacturing processes.
In another report commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers, 19 billion gallons of water and 425 million pounds of CO2 can be saved annually if textiles made in or exported from Nordic countries are recycled or reused.
Recycling clothes, giving out used clothes, and shopping for original used clothes helps to protect the earth from further resource depletion and also protect wildlife and the ecosystem.
Reduces the Use of Hazardous Substances
Just like natural resources, the use of some hazardous substances for cloth production cannot be avoided. Cotton, for example, the primary and most used raw material for the production of textiles and other clothing apparel, is an agricultural product grown commercially with the aid of chemical substances. The cultivation of cotton requires a large amount of pesticides and fertilizers, which acidify the soil and contaminate the water supply.
To produce 1kg of cotton, farmers would need to apply over 3kg of chemicals, and billions of tons of cotton are required by textile factories globally. The amount of hazardous substances required to meet such demand is staggering.
According to a fashion industry report made in 2018 by the Global Fashion Agenda, the cultivation of cotton for the apparel and textile industry consumes 16% of all insecticides in the world, 4% of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, and 7% of herbicides.
It is just unavoidable that the production of new clothes will further fuel the use of hazardous substances, which harm our ecosystem. Rather than add to this problem, efforts can be made to save the planet. One of these is buying used clothes. Recycling and reusing fabrics will result in a more sustainable and friendly environment.
Saves Energy
A lot of energy is needed for the operation of production machines and to power factories. The amount of energy required to complete a production process depends on the number of clothes that will be produced, and the number of clothes to be produced depends on the demand for them. The electricity used for production is derived using energy sources like oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy to mention a few.
The sources of energy used to power the clothing industry contribute heavily to the destruction of the ecosystem. Buying used clothes reduces the need for the production of more clothes and ensures that companies will not need to generate as much energy as they would have if they were producing larger quantities.
Buying used clothes will also help to reduce the carbon footprint in the textile industry as the transportation line of shipping new clothes around the world will be reduced. The fuel consumption of transport vehicles used to distribute goods, be it air, land, or sea, can then be avoided. The American Apparel Association reported in 2017 that for each used clothing item bought, 500 pounds of carbon emissions are prevented yearly. This then reduces the world’s carbon footprint by more than 80%.
Used Clothes Import in Africa
Africa has experienced a large influx of used clothes into the continent over the past few decades, and this has had both positive and negative impacts. Every week, thousands of bales containing used clothes arrive at the ports of African nations, waiting to be pounced on by prospective retailers.
These bales of clothes, when opened, contain items of different values and styles. They are taken to the market, making their way to inner cities and villages. The affordability of used clothes allows them to sell quickly. Everyone, from government workers to traders and farmers, shops at these used clothing markets.
For sellers, opening bales of clothes is like opening Pandora’s box. All sorts of clothes of varying values are found, some even worth as much as a thousand dollars if purchased as brand new. For buyers in Africa, buying these used clothes is an opportunity to get classy styles at a very cheap cost. However, in recent years, there has been a slight decline in the patronization of used clothing. A possible factor responsible for this is the poor quality of some of the clothes that are now shipped to Africa.
The great quality standard that had been associated with used clothes is fast dropping. While speaking to Renewable Matter, Ghanaian activist and journalist Akuvi Adjabs revealed that 90% of clothes found in the bales cannot be readily sold because of their poor conditions. Many of these clothes are fast fashion, not built to last.
These recent conditions are a result of importing from low-quality suppliers. To avoid this, it is recommended to get your top-quality used clothes wholesale supplies from a reputable used clothes supplier.
Purchasing quality used clothes from overseas is even faster, smoother, and easier when sourced from Kungfu KingAAA Used Clothes. Retailers and wholesalers alike are assured of getting their full money’s worth and more because Kungfu KingAAA only exports first-grade clothes to anywhere in the world while used clothes of poor quality end up in the landfill.
Impact of Used Clothes on the African Economy
As much as the used clothes market has been aesthetically and environmentally beneficial to Africa and the world at large, it has also exhibited some negative economic impacts on the African continent. The used clothes market consisting of unsorted clothes wholesalers does not give local textile and apparel producers enough control of the general clothing market.
According to the United Nations Statistics Division, Africa is a destination (or what you would call a dumping ground) for millions of tonnes of used clothes each year. This does not benefit the local economy. If the importation of used clothes continues at this rate without any moderating regulation, the people will see no need to continue producing locally, hence bringing the death of industrialization in Africa.
Bottom Line
Even though there have been calls from several quarters for the importation of used clothes to be regulated, the availability of these first-grade quality cheap used clothes in the market is a joy that most clothing shoppers love to behold. The old scarves, suits, gloves, t-shirts, trousers, ties, etc., continue to attract a loyal buying public who believes used clothes are not alternatives to new fast fashion clothes but a better choice.