Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Perpetual rags of the second-hand clothing market



article originally published in phsicsmag's A Universal Language issue available for download here

Much of the commentary around the secondhand clothing market seems to be content with continuing on with the current secondhand clothing business model provided clothes in Western countries don’t pile up at landfills. Fashion is increasingly becoming disposable because of the way conventional retail has diminished what used to be considered as one’s ‘basic capsule’; a pair of jeans, a coat, a few dress shirts, and so on. Fast fashion retail isn't the sole contributor to the issue of unwanted clothes.  In the secondhand market, charities collect clothes from donors and sell them to secondhand dealers at a profit. The dealers determine among themselves, the market prices for the clothes without any economic references. When you factor all that in, along with the imported clothes from low income sourcing destinations which drive up the demand for secondhand items by contributing to contractions in domestic textile industries, the secondhand issue is enormous. 


I would like to respond to some critical questions on this topic which aren't being answered. Do we need a secondhand clothing market? Yes, I believe people should be given the right to choose to buy secondhand goods or otherwise. Should we regulate it? Yes, especially in countries where domestic industries are hurt by it. Does it add value? Sadly not; even though affordability is certain, the economic considerations for producing brand new clothes through stimulating local economies are far much greater. Even the people employed by the secondhand clothing market would  be better off benefiting from established, transparent, regulated industries where things such as retirement plans and social benefits actually exist. What should retailers do to prevent stockpiles of unwanted clothes? Perhaps fast fashion’s next drive should be to recycle clothes. You return an old unwanted item to a Zara or H&M and they top up your purchasing credit with it or something similar. This will be more aboveboard and less stringent on resources. The secondhand clothing market is a present day reality.

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