We've signed up – won't you, too...?
When Jo announced on her @jofairley Instagram that she’d signed up to Oxfam’s Second Hand September initiative, she got an amazing response. Now the whole Beauty Bible team’s joined in, and we invite you, too, to pledge to buy no new clothes or accessories for a whole 30 days, in support.
Many of those of us in the developed world have way, way more clothes than we need. (There’s a statistic, in fact, that we only wear 30% of the clothes we own.) Often, we just go clothes-shopping when we’re feeling a bit bored, a bit blue, feel we deserve a treat – and end up having to find room in a rammed wardrobe for our impulse purchases.
Shopping in this way, without meaning to sound preachy, wastes time, money and planetary resources. Throwaway fashion is putting huge pressure on the planet and its people.
There’s no need to forswear clothes-shopping completely, but Second Hand September invites us to shop in a more thoughtful way. This is, of course, challenging this month – when all the new fashions drop. (February would definitely have been way easier!)
But it doesn’t mean you can’t buy ANYTHING. (Although just think of all the extra money you can spend on beauty products, that you’re not spending on your wardrobe!)
Simply think laterally about sources of clothes. We’ve always loved vintage and secondhand clothes and we’re big fans of eBay: search for brands you like by putting in the label, your size and choosing ‘AUCTION’ from the Buying Format in the Filters. (Jo is an absolute demon at this, and while there have been some disappointments, purchases are usually very reasonable and the odd mistake just goes off to the charity shop. She currently has several bids in on her favourite jeans – she knows her size and style – and a red, flowery pashmina which should prove toasty in the chillier months, if her bid wins.)
You can shop at charity shops themselves, of course (not least Oxfam) – and places like The Wardrobe in Jo’s home town of Hastings, which is a designer re-seller. Her whole town takes their cast-offs there, it sometimes feels like – and Jo often spots something she once owned enjoying a new life on a friend or stranger!
Oxfam are inviting everyone to sign a pledge to buy nothing new for 30 days – click here. And they’re also inviting us to post our secondhand finds on Twitter and Instagram, using the hashtag #SecondHandSeptember, to be entered into a weekly prize draw.
Are you in? We so are…
