“I shop secondhand because it’s one little way I can be kinder to the planet.”  At Consigning Women, we hear this sentiment quite a bit, and we enter one of our favorite months, April and Earth Month; we want to offer some advantages of shopping for secondhand luxury items.

1.  Our climate has experienced drastic changes. The fashion industry is the second-largest industry globally and the second-largest polluter of the environment. Cotton clothes consume a lot of water and energy. When you buy and sell secondhand clothes, you decrease the demand for new items, reducing the pressure on manufacturers to produce them in large quantities.
2. Discover Luxury Brands: Shopping for second-hand luxury consignment is a great way to discover new to you luxury brands. Instead of buying something new, shopping for second-hand clothes or products from a consignment store extends the life cycle of that clothing or product, which is an incredible way to avoid waste pollution.
3. Avoid unethical and controlling strategies of manufacturers: Second-hand shopping and ethical shopping work hand-in-hand. As a regular second-hand shopper, you will be contributing less to the average output of manufacturers. This happens when we, as a global society, choose to buy fewer new products. When we choose not to buy so many brand new things we reduce the demand, and we reduce the activities that contribute to pollution and the degradation of our environment.

Also, manufacturing strategies used by companies that mass-produce goods are not convenient and conducive for their workers. Often, they defy human rights. Increasing demand for these massed-produced goods will only support exploitative and unethical practices. While there are good companies out there that are ethical and transparent with their methods and strategies, they are only a handful, and their products tend to be quite expensive, with their prices above what an average person can afford.

Each time you buy and sell used goods, you invest in building a fairer world by reducing sweatshops and slave labor. When we change our buying habits, manufacturers will also need to change their production strategies.

4.  Decreases environmental pollution and saves resources - A considerable percentage of cotton grown for textile relies heavily on pesticides which acidify the soil and contaminate the nearby water supply. The fashion industry produces about 20% of global wastewater and emits about 10% of global carbon emissions, which is more than what is emitted by maritime shipping and international flights. This further proves how our activities cause more damage to the environment. Rather than add to the problems, we can effect a change by adopting new buying habits to become sustainable and environmental-friendly. Before buying those new clothes from your favorite retail store, think about the resources that went into their production and how they could have been used for an environmentally friendly cause.

5.    Extends the life of an item. Reusing ensures that we use things to their total capacity. Whether you cannot afford a brand new product or are environmentally conscious, build a habit of buying used. Whether you believe that item to use, donate, or gift someone, you make it useful. If you purchase it for personal use, use it with care. Keep the item in excellent condition to later resell, donate, or gift it. Whichever you decide to do, the reuse and recycle process continues, making it one less item that would end up in a landfill.

At Consigning Women we are currently accepting all things spring and early summer. Think resort wear, caftans, maxi dresses, long skirts and always accepting designer denim, accessories and handbags.