5 reasons to buy pre-loved clothes

We ask expert Zoe why she loves buying pre-loved clothes so much. Here is what she had to say.

I love buying preloved so much so that I actually decided to make a business out of it. Although it is growing in popularity, there are still some sceptics out there who may have had a bad experience or have a perception that preloved anything equals worn out, broken or outdated!!

Let’s be honest - we are bombarded all the time with advertising; on tv, billboards, social media, in magazines and from countless e-mails (if you are anything like me you sign up to all sorts of newsletters and then get inundated with special offers every other day!) These ads make you believe you NEED the best, latest, newest, smartest, prettiest, trendiest ‘stuff’.

Buying new things also makes us feel good, instant gratification and adrenaline rush of getting something new and beautiful, especially clothes, that makes an immediate and, often visible, impact.

Did you know (sorry, here comes the bad news part!!)

It would take 13 years to drink the water needed to make one t-shirt and a pair of jeans?
The textiles industry is the second largest industrial polluter creating water, air and solid waste?
30% of the clothes in people’s wardrobes are likely not to have been worn in the last year?
The average person buys 60% more items of clothing now than they did 15 years ago but only keep it half as long?
Every week the UK sends 11 million items of clothing to landfill?

A lot of people have cottoned on to the fact that buying preloved clothes, especially for baby and children, is a great idea, originally due to the price, but more and more because of the environmental impact but there are definitely still some doubters out there and people who think it’s not for them.

So here are 5 great reasons why choosing to buy preloved clothes for the whole family is such a great decision:

1 VALUE FOR MONEY

Little people grow a LOT (as did some of us big people during lockdown let’s be honest!!), and sometimes very quickly in the early years so it can cost a fortune to keep them in clothes. If you buy preloved baby and children’s clothes you will often only pay a fraction of the price of buying them new and sometimes you can even find items that have never been worn or still have the tags on but are half the price!

Did you know: On average parents spend £764 per year on clothes for one child. Buying preloved instead could save you around £500 a year and even if it was just some clothes, not all, it could still save hundreds of pounds!

2 CHOICE

There is an absolutely amazing range of preloved clothes available to buy (and growing by the day!), both in shops and online, and you can get hold of tens, or even hundreds of different brands, just by visiting one website or shop as well as discover different fashions and styles. It’s a great way to encourage youngsters to experiment with their style plus browsing can be fun and gives them loads of inspiration!

3 QUALITY

There is nothing better than getting something secondhand that was a bargain and looks good as new, and it really is possible! Sometimes though it can feel like a gamble, not knowing exactly what condition your preloved purchases are going to be.

However, there are ways you can reduce that risk and better guarantee that you really are getting the quality you want such as buying from reviewed and trusted sellers. Look for items with detailed descriptions and multiple photos and check what the clothes are made of. Some fabrics are far more durable than others. Cotton and linen products have strong fibres

4 CONVENIENCE

Shopping for preloved clothes is as convenient, if not more so, than buying new. Many second-hand retailers have their own e-commerce sites, Facebook/Instagram and e-Bay shops and will post (or deliver in some cases). Some even combine this with physical shops too. Plus charity shops are commonplace in most of our high streets and villages today and can often be found even when there are no shops selling new!

5 ENVIRONMENT

There are lots of companies out there now who are shouting about their ‘eco friendly’ credentials however the proven, most effective way to reduce the environmental impact of buying clothes is to buy pre-loved and reuse something that already exists.

Don’t get me wrong there are lots of companies out there who are trying to do the right thing and are looking for ways to operate and manufacture more sustainably but they will never better the reduction in impact on the environment of buying secondhand!

So there you have it - my top 5 reasons why buying preloved clothes for you and the family is a great decision, go on, give it a go!

Happy shopping 😊