by Evonne Baath
Too old, too small, too big, torn, broken, old-fashioned, not in season, damaged, ugly, itchy, discolored, out of style, passé, used– at least one of those amongst many others is what comes to mind when you think of second-hand.
© Photo: Evonne Baath
As early as the 17th century, servants and slaves sold their wealthy employee’s castoff garments at second hand depots to other impoverished people. In fact, during World War Two, the American and British governments encouraged citizens to “make do and mend”. Up until the mid 19th century, used clothes were an important way of acquiring clothing.
Only through industrialization, mass production and increasing income were consumers able to purchase new clothing. In the past, used clothes carried a heavy stigma of poverty and depression however nowadays; many see it as a trendy form of fashion (vintage/retro) and at times even as a political statement (rebelling across the norm). After the stock market crash of 2008, bragging about how much an item cost was no longer about how expensive it was but rather how cheap.
© Photo: Evonne Baath
Sara Hillesberg practices the philosophy of creating something new from something old. Sara is a local designer and her expertise is creating new clothing out of second hand clothes or old materials such as table clothes, blankets and even curtains. Having previously worked as a costume designer in London, she is used to working on a tight and low budget. For Sara, “environmental issues have always been important but to take something old and make something new out of it is also very fun”. She also believes that we live in a ‘throwaway’ culture, that we are buying what we want rather than what we actually need. In fact, in Sweden, an average person buys up to 24kg of clothes today in comparison to 10 years ago when the average person only bought 15kg. What many of us might not be aware of is that to produce just 1kg of textile from fibers requires 1kg of chemicals and 350 liters of water.
As many continue to be more environmentally concerned, purchasing used clothing has since lost much of its stigma. Textiles are difficult to recycle, especially mixed blends so re-using clothes amongst other items is considered environmentally friendly because it would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. In fact, many are turning their backs on fast fashion and like the idea of recycling. In fact, vintage fashion is so popular that even established brands are selling second-hand items such as Flippa K, Weekday, Grandpa and Acne. In Orebro alone, there are over 10 second-hand stores that specialize in clothing, furniture, books and all other sorts of things. There are even online portals such as Tradera and Blocket, which works similarly to eBay, and Amazon.
© Photo: Evonne Baath
For a new breed of ethical but still fashion-conscious consumers, secondhand purchases are not just driven by thrift. “If you think about when you produce clothes, it produces a lot of chemicals so the second hand clothes have been washed many times so it’s actually better so there aren’t any harmful substances left. Especially with kids” says Charlotte. Charlotte works as a cultural assistant in Wadkoping and has always bought second hand clothes and even furniture and such for her home. She thinks about 95% of her wardrobe is probably second hand. Just like Sara, she believes it’s environmentally friendly but also so she can buy high quality clothes much cheaper. Ellen Malm on the other hand believes “most people that shop second hand don’t do it because of the environment (as much as we would like to hope so) but because its cheap or hip and that you can find nice clothes that you won’t find in a regular store”. However, Ellen continues to buy everything secondhand for her children, as it’s a way to save money but also believing that “we can’t consume as much as we do if we want a sustainable future”.
It used to be a way of life, a way of living where it was essential to re-use old clothes to make something new out of them but nowadays, we discard something that might be slightly broken rather than fix it or create something new out of it. Kattis Kurtain, founder of Retro Marknad (a popular secondhand loppis), believes the fleamarket is the place to find unique and weird things and always loves a good bargain. She thinks although shopping for secondhand goods has “been popular for a long time, nowadays it’s a trend and [she] thinks its just getting bigger and bigger”.
© Photo: Evonne Baath
A huge factor being that “Swedes are very good at recycling”. There are of course still a handful or maybe even more individuals that dislike the idea of using someone else’s old clothes, Kattis does not want to sound rude but advises them “to get over [themselves] why look and dress like everyone else and think about all the money you save!” She gives an example of how recently she bought a pair of brand new boots (super nice ones too) and a winter jacket for less than 250krs. On that note, Ellen believes in order to “save the world for our children, we have to change our way of thinking. So if you don’t want to stop shopping, shop second hand”.
According to Sweden.se, “the core principle of sustainable development is that members of one generation should act to conserve resources for future generations”. For most Swedes today, sustainability is a way of life so when you think about throwing away your old clothes next time, why not trade them at a shop like Sara’s? Or give them to charity so they can be re-sold or sell them at a flea market! Not only will you be helping the environment, you could end up making money for items you would have otherwise just thrown away or end up getting some great quality items for a bargain. One piece of advice before you enter a flea market from Kattis who’s been running around them for years, “bring change, lots of it …and if you want to hustle with the price, don’t be rude”
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