It’s been just over three months since I kicked the habit of buying new clothes. A habit that - as I refer to in my previous blog post - I didn’t actually realise was one until I stepped back, and stopped.
What has the experience of the past three months been like? It feels like time to take stock …
Once I had taken the decision not to buy any new clothes for a year, I immediately went through my post and emails, unsubscribing from all clothing company marketing. I was surprised how many I had to contact (albeit most of the postal ones had trickled in by some third party sharing of my details) and having done this, my inbox felt so much quieter. I thought there were only a handful of carefully chosen companies that sent me marketing emails. Perhaps there was, but a significant amount of daily ‘noise’ stopped along with the messages.
In tandem, after a couple of weeks I came to notice that a whole portion of my mind had let go of a background questioning about whether I should have a quick online search for a certain item of clothing - again, something I hadn’t noticed was there. It made me realise that it has become culturally acceptable - perhaps even required - for us to have a full, varied and ever-changing wardrobe suitable for every possible purpose; and the regular pursuit of new items has become a normalised source of identity and expression, I believe, for many of us. As someone who thought they don’t follow fashion-trends and seek a more ‘timeless, functional and well-made’ approach to purchasing clothes, I was especially surprised by the impact that placing a ban upon myself buying any new clothes would have.
I set myself the challenge of not buying any new clothes for a year - so second-hand shopping is still within the rules. But what I found interesting was that for the first two months, as well as releasing myself from an (albeit unconscious) ‘noise’ around clothes, I didn’t have any inclination to buy second-hand either. I didn’t look online or in shops, I just didn’t feel the pull. In fact I went through my wardrobe and had a big cull, passing on a couple of bags to charity shops - and the lack of searching along with the cut-back felt incredibly freeing.
Come mid-December, I took a trip to Truro and was fortunate enough to be able to purchase the majority of our Christmas gifts for the children from Oxfam. While I was there, I browsed the clothes and came away with a few purchases for myself - my first since beginning this experiment.
Oxfam Truro had undergone a revamp since my last visit a few months ago, and I was struck at how appealing it was - layout, lighting and the shop floor carefully thought through to create a space that feels inviting - quite a contrast to a number of charity shop experiences. It’s probably no surprise that this shop has what seems to be to be the best range of clothes, goods and toys in the city, where Jaeger sits beside Billabong on the clothes rails - appealing to visit as a shopper and somehow inviting the inclination to donate as well. I was curious to find more about behind-the-scenes in the charity clothes sector, so was lucky enough to be shown round by one of the shop Managers.
Walking around the rabbit-warren of rooms and corridors all stacked high with carefully coded clothes and homewares, I was struck by the scale of the operation that feeds through into the modest-sized shop floor. In this particular shop, there may be up to 100 donations a day - all needing to be sorted, logged, checked, gift aided, sized, priced, tagged and potentially moved on to a secondary area such as the online shop or fed through to an alternative branch that’s in need of more donations. An incredible process that has the mutually beneficial outcomes of recycling clothes (and homewares) and keeping them out of landfill, alongside generating income for Oxfam’s international development work.
Enquiring about the profile of shoppers at Oxfam Truro, I was told that the shop revamp has encouraged the younger generation, especially college students, and there are more men visiting this flagship Oxfam store compared with many others, although there’s definitely a more extensive ladies section and far more women’s clothes being donated than men’s. Footfall and sales have increased since the revamp along with donations - creating a positive cycle of reusing, reducing waste and raising funds.
I have always wondered what happened to textiles there are less than perfect - torn, stained or simply difficult to sell on. I was fascinated to find out the multi-tiered approach to donated clothes: those that can be sold in the shops are, generating income for the charity; through the Wastesaver scheme, textiles get collected weekly from each shop, re-sorted and then sent to the shops who have little donations or which specialise in for example designer or wedding; a proportion of suitable donated clothes, including bras, are used within Oxfam’s Frip Ethique social enterprise project in Senegal through which items are passed on to local market traders to sell. ‘Over 500 small traders buy stock from Frip Ethique and run their own businesses’ (Oxfam) enabling people - mainly women - to earn a living as well as contributing to Oxfam’s work. This project alone turns over 1,455 tonnes of stock each year.
But what about clothes that are stained or near-rags? Holey socks - can there be any possible use? Oxfam can even recycle clothes that are rags, the waste textile is sold on to be used for example as mattress filler or insulation (if you’re donating these, it’s a great help to bag and label separately from other donations!).
My eyes have been well and truly opened to the work that goes into creating the positive loop that is found within the charity shop sector - reusing, reducing waste, generating income. The Oxfam Truro store has one full time and one part time manager, then a team of roughly 25 volunteers aged 14 to nearly 100! It’s a diverse community, some up-skilling, some sharing technical skills or simply using their spare time to help (there are three doctors amongst the team of volunteers in this store, one of whom was volunteering for Medicans Sans Frontieres in Sierra Leone during the ebola crisis). What a community to be part of. And yet they are desperate for more volunteers to help out, from an hour a month to a regular weekly shift - and anything from working in the store room, shop floor, technical team, photography, visual merchandising, new product development and much more. So if you wish to share or learn skills while making a positive social and environmental contribution, contact Oxfam Truro - or indeed your favourite local charity shop.
During my visit to Oxfam Truro the phrase “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” was used - and this really seems to sum things up; it’s incredible that so many clothes end up in landfill when there is the potential for such a positive cycle to occur when those clothes are donated. Donating and buying through charity shops is surely to be celebrated, let’s try to overcome any remaining stigma about second-hand purchasing and in so doing reduce landfill, contribute to the culture of reusing, and make a financial contribution to the social and environmental issues supported by the various charity shops.
So what has the first few months of this year of not buying new taught me?
It’s an interesting challenge to set parameters for purchasing and see what affect they have - the breadth of the impact has certainly surprised me.
I can get creative and do a whole lot more with my existing wardrobe - without being a seamstress - simply by revisiting what I already have and mixing things up, or adding in second-hand purchases.
Donate clothes to charity shops, and buy from them - it makes such sense. Clothes are recycled and at the same time the charity benefits. Guys - donate more, charity shop more. Ladies - even your bras can be donated and made use of. Check out Oxfam’s online shop.
Talk about and celebrate charity shop purchases, there shouldn’t be any stigma attached, yet I have a feeling that there still is.
Donate even spoiled (eg ripped, marked) clothes to charities such as Oxfam - the textile will be recycled and the charity receives some income in return.
If we want to be sustainable around our clothing use, then yet again it comes back to a message around simple living: pare back, cut out the ‘noise’ around buying; the less you buy the less you feel inclined to, and vice versa (or so it seems to me ..).
As ever I’d love to know your thoughts
Tia x
In Truro wearing jacket, jumper and bag from Oxfam, jeans from eBay, shoes bought new before my year of not-buying-new, and (shhhhh) my husband’s socks