Second-hand

Flying to Finland? Don’t just walk past the world’s first second-hand store at an airport at the Helsinki-Vantaa.

Online resale is the fastest-growing sector in the US with the secondhand market expected to grow 21% annually on average over the next 5 years, reaching $38 billion by 2027, says new research.

How a government-led movement against second-hand clothing in Indonesia will eventually pan out, time will tell, what cannot be negated is that this practice of thrifting could well emerge as a way of life to deal with economic challenges, or even a means to express issues of identity and social responsibility toward the environment.

Under the guise of sustainability, the East African nation of Kenya has been rendered a favourite dumping ground of EU countries as they export millions of tonnes of ‘mitumba’ (secondhand clothes) which are mostly non-recyclable synthetic clothing too dirty or damaged to be reused.

Cashing in on the growing ‘resale economy’ in the UK, Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS) has partnered with online marketplace eBay to help brands and retailers create and scale up resale offerings.

UK's largest circular fashion enabler, Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS), has partnered with Circularity Capital, with an investment of £10 million to meet its expansion plans.

A clothing bank that distributes pre-loved clothing to the needy in the Czech Republic's capital Praha has taken on the onerous task of delaying post-consumer waste from going to landfills. The Operations Manager of Oděvní Banka (Clothing Bank), Veronika Kyptová, elaborates.

In 2012, a charity was set up in Australia which embodied ideas of circular fashion long before it was to become a catchphrase. Thread Together dwelt on the simple idea of donating rather than disposing of unsold clothing. Today, it provides new wardrobes to at least 2,500 people every week, and has diverted over 3,000 tonnes of clothing from landfill. Chief Executive Officer Anthony Chesler tells texfash.com the saga that Thread Together has stitched.

Doing away with secondhand garments is easier said than done because people do need access to affordable clothing. Founder of Nairobi-headquartered Africa Collect Textiles (ACT), Elmar Stroomer, believes it is time to add a waste tax on imported items and the funds should be invested in high-end collection and recycling infrastructure.