Second-hand Rose comes of age

Better World’s editor, Emma Williams, reflects on how second-hand is finally no longer second-rate.

For those of us who grew up in the seventies, there was always something mortally embarrassing about anything second-hand. It was shorthand for ‘can’t afford new’ and in those days admitting anything was ‘previously owned’ was a sure-fire way to get your name crossed off the cool list forever.

Not that I had much to worry about mind you, I was a long way from cool. My mum being part hippy, part designer freak meant I had the misfortune of sporting some unforgettable home-made outfits paired with designer accessories scoured from the local charity shops. Try, as a nine year old, explaining the philosophy of resource conservation and classical dressing to the classroom thug when you’re also wearing clogs made on a commune in Holland. My name wasn’t going anywhere near that cool list for at least a decade.

Twenty something years later and things have come a long way. Although still far from being perceived as mainstream ‘cool’, second-hand isn’t the pariah it once was.

Concerned about our ever rising levels of consumption in the West, a growing percentage of the population has started to question the ethics of the £2 supermarket jeans. Our addiction to brands and fashion built on the media-fuelled insecurities about body image and style are also coming under the ethical spotlight.

The green movement can take a lion’s share of the credit as people, convinced of the necessity of recycling, start exploring the relevance of the other ‘Rs’ of the eco warriors’ mantra – Reduce and Reuse.

Reusing items ensures that their useful lifespan is extended for as long as possible and saves them from landfill or incineration. In the case of textiles, it’s estimated that around 95 per cent of the 400,000 to 700,000 tonnes that are sent to landfill each year could have been recycled.

The re-branding of Rose

The lure of the bargain basement outfit also seems to be on the wane for a growing number of individuals. The Cooperative Bank’s 2007 Ethical Consumerism report revealed that consumer boycotts of low-cost clothing grew by 20 per cent in 2006 to reach £338million, fuelled largely by concerns over poor labour standards.

Although awareness of environmental and ethical issues has been a key driver, other factors have also played a key role in the re-branding of Rose. The village hall jumble sales of yesteryear have been replaced by family friendly car boot sales and sites like eBay have successfully convinced the masses that ‘online auctions’ mean that they are ‘collectors’ and not bargain hunters with a mouse.

The celebs have done their bit too with ‘vintage’ fast becoming the only way for the real fashionistas to guarantee they’ll never turn up in the same frock as their PA. Even the charity shops have started to tempt in a new clientele by offering new lines alongside its usual mix of second-hand clothes, books and bric-a-brac. 

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