Why is shopping pre-loved better for the planet?

Why is shopping pre-loved better for the planet?

Our goal at Reskinned is to share the best ways to shop the brands you love and dress in a way that makes you feel great. All while having the lowest possible impact on the planet, of course.

With the very real issue of climate change looming over us, the fashion industry has grown to be one of the most wasteful industries on the planet, with one of the highest negative impacts on our environment.

Unfortunately every time we buy new stuff we're making some kind of contribution to that issue.

Did you know that the number of times a garment is worn before it gets thrown away has declined by nearly 40% since just 2007?

Compare that back to our parents and grandparents' times, where things would be cared for, mended and kept for decades, and it’s plain to see that there is a serious issue with overconsumption.

Especially with 85% of all textiles ending up in landfill.

Let’s be real for a second - this is a number that we dramatically need to reduce in order to keep our planet healthy.

The good news is, it's never been easier to make sure your old clothes get re-worn and re-loved again and again.

And it’s also never been easier to buy the brands we love, pre-loved instead of new. From clothes to shoes and accessories - whatever your style, there is usually a pretty good pre-loved option out there that you can pick instead.

Need more convincing?

Here are just a few of the best reasons to shop the brands you love pre-loved instead of new.

You create less pollution

Whenever anything new is produced it impacts the environment and contributes to pollution at every single stage of that production.

That includes the extraction of raw materials, the manufacturing of the product and the transportation - which is usually halfway across the world. All of this adds up to a pretty hefty carbon footprint, and a lot of pollution.

Natural textiles need pesticides in order to grow. And once those crops are grown and made into fabrics, the fabrics are treated with harsh chemicals and harmful dyes. The harmful chemicals end up entering our waterways, air and soil, and damage the habitats of plants and animals.

When you're buying something second-hand instead of new, you will reduce the amount of pollution significantly, because all of those processes have already happened.

The only pollution that will be added to the number is the transport of getting your item to you, and in our case, we try our best to make sure this is the least possible, only shipping to the UK, from the UK.

You reduce water waste

Pretty much all new clothes require a huge amount of water to produce.

Just one cotton t-shirt needs 712 gallons of water to be made - enough to fill up a full hot tub.

This is something it’s easy to forget about when we’re shopping, because we don’t see it happening, but it’s a very big issue.

Water is one of the world’s most precious resources, and when we choose pre-loved we’re saving a lot of it. With World Ocean Day coming up on the 8th of June, it’s even more vital to remember that our world’s oceans need our help.

You save natural resources

It’s World Environment Day on the 5th of June. A day where we should be raising awareness about protecting the environment. Choosing pre-loved is one way you can do that.

The majority of the resources that are used to make clothes are not renewable. Fabrics like polyester and Lycra are plastic-based, meaning they use oil to produce which is a finite resource.

On top of that, many of the natural resources that are being used in the fashion industry are being used at a rate that's faster than they can even be produced.

That spells disaster.

When you're buying pre-loved, it means you’re not contributing to any new stuff being brought into the world, and any new resources being used up.

You reduce packaging waste

You know when you get one of those online orders where your clothes are packed in a plastic bag inside a plastic bag inside a plastic bag? Or you have to rifle through handfuls of plastic packing peanuts to actually find the item you bought?

New products tend to have a lot more packaging, and most of our popular high street brands unfortunately aren't taking recycling into consideration when they're choosing what they send you your clothes in.

When you buy something from our website, we make sure that all the packaging we use is recyclable so that you don't have to worry about the excess plastic waste having a negative impact on the planet.

You’re Saving Money

When you shop pre-loved instead of new, you save money for more important things.

Most of the time, when you buy something secondhand, you save a lot of money compared to buying it brand new (If you buy on Reskinned you’ll get up to 60% off!) That’s a good incentive to choose pre-loved, but it also means you can spend your money in other ways that can help the planet.

Why not spend the money you save on something that reduces your environmental impact. Like a bike to cycle to work, or organic food? You can even donate to a charity or use it to support a local business. There are so many great ways that you can use your money for good, it’s hard to choose!

All in all, buying pre-loved is an excellent way to reduce your environmental impact, and it's also a great way to save a pretty penny on your favourite brands.

Being intentional about what you choose, avoiding impulse purchases and picking the things that you know you're going to love for as long as you can - that’s how you can do your bit for the planet.