Not solely is second-hand buying good for the planet and your pockets, our new analysis finds the more style-conscious you are, the more likely you are to shop for second-hand garments and equipment.
In the 2020-21 monetary 12 months, 72% of Australians bought a minimum of one merchandise of second-hand garments – however we wished to know more about individuals who have been buying second hand.
It is commonly assumed those that shop for second-hand garments achieve this to get monetary savings or scale back their influence on the atmosphere.
In our examine, we discovered the upper individuals price on style-consciousness, the more likely they’re to shop second hand. In reality, style-consciousness was a much bigger predictor of second-hand buying than being frugal or ecologically-conscious.
Style-conscious buyers are very completely different from fashion-conscious buyers. Fashion is all concerning the “new”: trend is a novelty and always evolving.
Style, however, is about expressing long-term particular person id.
Read more:
Secondhand clothes gross sales are booming – and will assist clear up the sustainability disaster within the trend business
The drawback with trend
Fashion buyers are used to a steady provide of recent traits and “quick trend” merchandise. Fast trend works shortly to replicate an ever shifting stream of trend traits, producing massive volumes of low-quality attire.
The influence of quick trend on the atmosphere is critical and well-documented. Globally, the quick trend business creates 92 million tonnes of waste per 12 months and makes use of 79 trillion litres of water. Less than 15% of garments are recycled or reused.
Poorly made and low-quality quick trend gadgets are a major drawback for charity shops, who’re compelled to ship quick trend gadgets they will’t promote to landfill.
But, going in opposition to this quick trend pattern, rising numbers of persons are buying for second-hand clothes and niknaks.
Read more:
‘I can solely achieve this a lot’: we requested fast-fashion buyers how moral issues form their selections
A rising market
It’s tough to decide the dimensions of the second-hand market as a result of many gross sales happen in casual settings equivalent to pre-loved markets and on-line platforms like Facebook Marketplace.
However, gross sales information from on-line platforms reveals an explosion in development. James Reinhart, CEO of on-line second-hand trend retailer Thredup, has predicted the worldwide second-hand market will double within the subsequent 5 years to US$77 billion (A$102 billion).
He additionally predicts the second-hand market will be double the dimensions of quick trend by 2030.
Younger buyers are driving development in reputation of second-hand buying, particularly by way of on-line platforms.
Our analysis suggests a lot of this development is due to buyers contemplating themselves to be style-conscious.
What makes a second-hand shopper?
We surveyed 515 Australian female-identifying shoppers their “orientation” (the desire to behave in a sure approach) when it comes to buying. Each participant was measured for their orientation in direction of frugality, how ecologically aware they’re, their stage of materialism, how susceptible they’re in direction of nostalgia, their fashion-consciousness and their style-consciousness.
While we discovered there are frugal and ecologically-conscious second-hand buyers, our analysis revealed overwhelmingly that style-consciousness is the best predictor of second-hand trend buying.
People who scored extremely on the style-consciousness scale have been more likely to shop for second-hand garments than any of the opposite orientations.
A mode-conscious particular person expresses themselves by way of their garments. These buyers need garments that complement their private model and values. They look for genuine and unique items and keep away from mainstream traits and quick trend.
Style-conscious buyers purchase high-quality, sturdy clothes and niknaks. While fashion-conscious buyers are always shopping for new garments to sustain with present traits, style-conscious buyers purchase garments which might be timeless, well-crafted and permit them to specific their particular person id over the long-term.
Traditional thrift outlets run by charities are responding to shopper demand, reinventing their shops with fastidiously chosen, high-quality garments, improved merchandising and retailer design, on-line gross sales and improved digital and social media advertising and marketing.
The variety of independently owned, highly-curated “pre-loved” shops and on-line gross sales platforms can be growing.
Social media influencers have pushed a lot of this development. Their accounts embrace second-hand trend, the round financial system (which highlights reuse, restore, repurpose and recycle) and promote the notion of #secondhandfirst.
Helping the planet…with model
We hope with growing numbers of second-hand shops, markets and on-line platforms promoting a variety of high quality, pre-loved garments at completely different value factors for completely different budgets – coupled with the rising acceptance of second-hand buying – buyers will take into account shopping for second-hand more typically.
For those that already embrace “not needing new”, not solely are you serving to the planet – our analysis reveals you are additionally likely to be doing it with model.
https://theconversation.com/do-you-shop-for-second-hand-clothes-youre-likely-to-be-more-stylish-180028
