The second-hand clothing business

1.0 Executive summary

The second-hand clothing business is fast increasing globally. The firm utilizes charity shops for second-hand retail clothing. Through the charity shops, clothes that could have otherwise been rendered useless and disposed of are put into better use and resold. The charity shops are significantly becoming preferred as the number of environmentally conscious consumers increase. Organizations seek to engage in second-hand clothing business as a way of building the brand name and making the brand reputable. Through this business strategy, the environment is significantly conserved. This is as the waste eliminated in the production process is described. Also, the number of clothes that into landfills is significantly reduced, consequently conserving the environment.

2.0. Introduction

Business sustainability involves engaging in business practices in a way that not only guarantees the durability of the business but also ensures that the environment is also able to survive and thrive even as the business is conducted. A sustainable business is a business venture that can be considered as a green business. In essence, sustainable business has minimal adverse effects on the environment. It is viewed as a business that affects the environment positively and preserves it for the good of the future and future generations. In considering the second-hand clothing business as a second sustainable business, this paper seeks to elaborate on the positive aspects of the business with regards to the way it affects the environment, and the ability of a business to last over a long period.

3.0. Waste and resource management

Waste management entails the process by which waste is collected transported and either disposed of or recycled. Waste that goes through the management process is mainly material wastes produced through human activities. It entails activities and actions that are put in place in the process of managing wastes. The process entails the entire process from the point of production of waste to the disposal of the waste. The process of waste and resource management includes the collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of wastes. Additionally, it entails the regulation of the wastes and the management of the entire process.

4.0. Reasons for buying second-hand clothing

Various reasons compel individuals towards the buying of second-hand clothes. These reasons include that clothes are considered eco-friendly. Unlike first-hand clothes, second-hand clothes do not consume further resources they have already been made, meaning they do not go through the industrial process again. Not using the second-hand clothes is viewed as wasteful through using them. There is a reduction of chemical pollutions associated with methods of production and the decline of the waste of the materials that would go into the manufactory of new clothes.

Second-hand clothes are also cheaper in comparison to new clothes. As they are being resold, they do not sell at a similar process of new clothes, for the obvious reasons that they are being reused. There is also the assumption that second-hand clothes are more long-lasting in comparison to new clothes. In the case that the second-hand clothes are well thrifted, there is the possibility that they will last longer in comparison to new clothes. Their ability to last longer is, however, dependent on them being efficiently cared for. Clothes that are sold as second as hand clothes are mainly clothes s that do need to meet the criteria of fast fashion. As a result, these clothes are made to be long-lasting and robust. The factors of fast fashion and obsolesce have, however, affected this factor, making clothes easily disposable the garments produced over the recent times cannot withstand harsh conditions as those produced in the past twenty to one hundred years. In essence, the quality of clothes in the last years has been compromised.

The use of second-hand clothes is essential in lessening loads of landfills. The average production of textiles is at 14.3 tons per year. On average, every American dispossess off approximately 65 pounds of clothing. This cumulatively amounts to roughly six percent of all the municipal waste. The figure further accounts for about 85%of all the textile waste. Most of this waste is, however, still in good condition and could be used for a longer time in the case that they are bought and sold off to thrift shops. The use of second-hand clothes is also essential as it facilitates the reduction o of demand for fast fashion. In essence, it facilitates the reduction in the use of slave labor and the reduction of sweatshops. Through the use of second-hand clothes, there is the promotion of a world that is much fairer.

A charity shop refers to a shop that cheaply sells used goods and gives its profits to charity. In the United States, they are referred to as thrift shops. They apply to retail establishments that are run by charity organizations to raise money. In essence, they are viewed as social enterprises. They operate through mainly selling of used products, including clothes to raise money. The items sold by charity shops are donated primarily by well-wishers and other members of the public. Additionally, the staff who work in charity shops are mainly volunteers.  Since the items sold are donations, and the workers are volunteers, the business costs are inherently low, a factor that makes it possible for the items to be competitively priced. Following the payment of expenses associated with the business, all the remaining profits and proceeds are used with regards to the stated purpose of the organization.

Sustainable fashion refers to a movement and process of creating change to fashion products and the entire fashion system and creating a drive towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. It is more than the act of addressing fashion products and textiles. Instead, it extends to addressing the whole system of fashion. It entails dealing with the interdependent cultural, social, financial, and ecological systems that relate to the fashion industry. It involves the consideration of fashion from the perspective of the various stakeholders. The stakeholders include producers, users, and all individuals involved in the process from the production to the consumption of fashion. It also considers all the living species, both the contemporary and the future dwellers of the planet, and the way they would be affected by the evolutions in the fashion industry. Sustainable fashion belongs to and is the responsibility of the entire public sector, private sectors, and all citizens. It is essential to promote eco-friendly fashion through the use of fabric and means of production that do not cause much harm to the environment.

5.0. Affordable Sustainable Fashion

Affordable, sustainable fashion mainly relates to conscious fashion. While ethical and sustainable fashion brands are considered to be expensive, building a conscious wardrobe is not necessarily embedded in spending a lot of money. Second-hand cloth shopping does not only present a high level of sustainability. Instead, it is also significantly affordable. Through shopping for clothes from charity shops, there is the possibility of obtaining required brands without supporting unethical practices in which the brands are involved in the course of the production of the clothes.

In the year 2019 September, the Oxfam second-hand cloth retailer engaged in a campaign, advising shoppers to rethink the purchase of new clothes, and instead focus on the purchase of second-hand clothes. This was contributed to by the view that despite the thriving nature of the fast fashion, it ends up causing disastrous damage to the environment. The increased pressure for consumers to engage in the purchase of second-hand clothes is in an attempt to save the planet from the catastrophic nature of fast fashion. There is, however, the question of how sustainable the second-hand cloth business is and to what extent it and save the planet from the damage caused by the textile industry.

With the increase of sustainable shopping options, the United Kingdom is experiencing a change in the retailing pattern. Retailers have increased the pressure and attempt to find better ways of being more eco-friendly. This is accompanied by the fact that some retailers are turning a blind eye and still promoting fast fashion. The Oxfam organization, a charity aimed at fighting global poverty, introduced the second hand September as a way of urging the shoppers to avoid buying of new clothes in September, and instead buy second-hand products. The initiative of the organization brings about the question of the viability of second-hand clothing business and if it as the ability to take over the fashion industry and outdo the fast fashion market. In response to this, there is the fact that sustainable shopping does not pot pose the most love initiative for fashion retailers with regards to business conduct. However, the retailers are forced to support and advocate for sustainable business practice as a way of staying relevant and appealing to the increasingly environmentally conscious consumers and market.

The second had shopping viewed as among the ways that consumers. According to the businesses dealing in second-hand clothing, the damage caused by fast fashion is extensive. This damage is considered concerning the extensive usage of water in the production process. It extends to poor working conditions to which the workers are exposed, in addition to the poor pay that the workers receive. Statistics suggest that the carbon emission that the clothing industry contributes to the United Kingdom alone every month is more in comparison to the emission generated from flying around the world 900 times. With these statistics, there is the fact of the fact that the industry needs to change. Second-hand clothing is considered as one of the ways through which the enterprises can undertake the necessary change towards sustainability. Through second-hand clothing, there is a significant drop in the waste that the industry emits in the process of production, the amounts of clothing that go into landfills are significantly reduced. For instance, the second-hand clothing business in the United Kingdom helps in the reduction of the 11 million clothing that goes into the United Kingdom’s landfills alone every week.

For some time, retailers have received pressure from consumers, legislation, and campaigns, pushing then to engage in environmental conservation. A large number of retailers have realized that their actions towards environmental protection and engaging in sustainable business have a direct impact on the reputations of their brands. Through sustainable business, they can attract consumers who engage in environmentally conscious shopping decisions. This move has made a large number of fashion entities participate in the stocking of second-hand clothing. It has also increased the number of entities that engage in recycling their clothing and donating some in the bid to attract a large number of consumers who have shifted towards the consumption patterns that embrace environmentally conscious fashion. Through engaging in second hand retailing, the business entities retain a high number of consumers as they move contributes to positive brand attitudes of the consumers. The sustainable nature of the second-hand clothing retailing has seen the expansion of the second-hand retailing industry and a growth rate that is 21 times faster in comparison to the broader retail market over the past three years. This s statistic is according to the research compiled by Global Data for online retailer Thredup.

Second-hand shopping of clothes through the charity shops is considered as an effective way of shopping sustainably. Through imitative such as second hand September, there is the hope that the consumers who participate in the initiative will manage to review their shopping habits to make better sustainable shopping decisions in the future. The second hand of September is an initiative that worked as an eye-opener for shoppers on the importance of second-hand shopping as a way of engaging in sustainable shopping.

Fast fashion is, however, still a challenge to the sustainability of the resale market. With the growth of the second-hand market, retailers are faced with the responsibility of rethinking how they can reduce the environmental impacts caused by the clothing industry. They are also faced with the responsibility of knowing how they can maximize the sustainable practices that they already have in place. This is as currently, consumers have increased consciousness that they put into their buying decisions than before. According to research, 20% of consumers confirmed that they only buy sustainable products. In this sense, the charity shops that engage second-hand clothing, therefore, increase their sustainability as they get the advantage of attracting the conscious environmental consumer. These statistics suggest that the appetite for more sustainable options is rising, be it second hand directly from a brand o retailer or upcycled clothing.

Among factors that initially posed challenges to charity shops is that second-hand shopping, in the past, had been frowned upon. With the increased movement of the consumers towards product s that are environmentally friendly and cause minimal adverse effects on the environment, second-hand shopping and charity shops have been embraced more, making the trade in second-hand clothes more sustainable.  The stigma associated with second-hand clothes shopping has been replaced with admiration and encouragement for second-hand shopping. The move towards second-hand shopping has been promoted by imitative such as the OOOTD initiative. This initiative, which stands for Old Outfit Of The Day is an initiative used by Newlife charity for disabled children, where the organization provides a social media platform where the social media users post a picture of their look styled vintage and excess stock. Through this initiative, the second-hand clothes are promoted as being useful and attractive, making more buyers attracted to second-hand clothing.

Even with the move towards second-hand clothing, there is the fact that there are some clothing that cannot be sold for second hand. The reasons for this include both health and hygiene reasons second-hand clothing can only be sold to a specific extent. However, there is still the need for other clothing, including underwear and socks that cannot be sold at second hand. The solution for these items, however, is that they should be made durable to ensure that they are nor produced in large numbers. Retailers further have the responsibility of ensuring that they create garments with longevity in mind. This way, they limit the urge of the users to donate clothes to second-hand retailers. Even with the move to second-hand clothing, there is no guarantee that the clothes do not end up in the rubbish dump and consequently polluting the environment. This is because all products have lifelines and that they eventually wear out. Despite the attempt to stop clothing from ending up into rubbish dumps, they eventually wear out and cannot be used any longer.

6.0. Environmental impact of charity shops.

Among the environmental impacts of charity shops include the ethical disposal of clothes. Through the charity shops as individuals get the advantage of being able to have an ethical way and option of disposing of their unwanted clothes. Both retailers and individuals can easily package their unsold and unwanted garments and dropping them at the nearest charity shops. While this process is as simple as putting the unwanted clothes into the bin, it is an ethical option. The unwanted and unsold clothes do not end up polluting the environment. Instead, the whole process of environmental pollution is avoided, and the clothes are put into a good cause of helping the needy and assisting the charity organizations in fulfilling other initiatives in society.

Through the charity shops, the chances of recycling are increased. Among the ways of avoiding environmental pollution include the recycling of commodities. This, therefore, means that through charity shops, there is a higher chance of preventing environmental pollution. In the case that a charity retailer is unable to sell an item, they seek to either recycle it directly or through a textile recycler. The charity shop can either reuse or recycle more than 90% of the clothes that are donated to them. This initiative plays a significant role in ensuring that the environment is conserved as pollution is avoided.

Another environmental impact of second-hand clothing and charity shops is that they reduce landfills. In 2018 alone, the second-hand cloth business reduced the united kingdom landfills by up to 327000tones.thus is as the clothes and textile materials that could have ended up in landfills to account for the deficit number ended up in charity retail on the united kingdom. Other than the environmental importance that this posed, it was also vital in the saving of the landfill tax. In the United Kingdom, councils have to pay 86.20 United Kingdom pounds for every tone of waste that is buried into the ground. Through the charity shops, this money is saved and put into other environmental initiatives to make the environment cleaner and better.

Through the charity shops, the textile industry can slow down fast fashion, and consequently reduce carbon emission, and emission of dirty and poisonous water into the environment. Through the use of charity shops, it is possible to reduce the emissions that textile industries release into the environment by up to approximately 20- 30%. This significantly reduces the waste that gets into the environment as the manufactory industries are responsible for the most carbon pollution of the environment. It reduces the pollutants generated into the environment through the shipping process as the clothes are transported to the required destinations.

7.0. Conclusion

The second-hand clothing business has highly improved. The popularity of this business has been contributed to by the increased number of charity shops. The sustainability of the second-hand business is viewed by the fact that it facilitates environmental conservation. Through the gist shops, clothes that could have been released into the environment and consequently creating more possibility of conserving the environment. The second-hand business had been responsible for reducing the effects of fast fashion. It reduces the number of carbon emissions and water pollutants that are released into the environment by the textile factories in the process of the manufactory of new clothes. The business also can remain viable and survive over a long time as a higher number of consumers are becoming environmentally conscious. As a result, most of the retailers seek to engage in business ventures that conserve the environment, consequently attracting consumers.

8.0. References