5 Reasons why shop vintage clothing

Shop vintage clothing is worthy. The United Nations established fashion as an environmental and social emergency. And as it consumers it is very important to understand this. As long as the fashion industry continues to accelerate it proccess and to influence people to buy more and more cheap and disposable clothes, the planet and workers suffer the cost. So in this post we are going to talk about 5 reasons why shop vintage clothing is something we should all do.

1- When you shop vintage you buy better quality clothing

A garment is considered vintage when it has at least 10 life years. So this means that the quality of a vintage cloth is better than retail stores. The average lifetime of a garment today is of 3 years.

In addition, decades ago clothes were made to last. The fabrics and it tailoring were much better than nowadays. Therefore, if you have a vintage cloth you actually have a relic.

2- Is sustainable

The fashion industry is the second largest polluter after the oil industry. Fast fashion is the mass-production of cheap and disposable clothing. And it uses trends replication and low-quality materials in order to bring affordable and trendy styles to the public.

So when you shop vintage clothing you are being more sustainable. In one hand, it is because they are clothes that are already made and it avoids all the chain production. And in the other hand, when you buy a vintage item you are giving the garment another opportunity and more life. Avoiding its end on a landfill.

Shop vintage clothing prevents:

  • Industrial pollution: The apparel industry emits 10% of the global carbon emissions. That’s more emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined. And this is due the energy used during its production, manufacturing and transportation of all the million pieces each year.
  • Material waste: According to the UN, every single second the equivalent of one garbage truck of textils is burning or throwing to a landfill. Most of the garments are made of synthetic fibers (like polyester) that are plastic fibers. So they’re non-biodegradable and can take up to 200 years to decompose.
  • Water abuse: The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of the total waste of water globally. This is the equivalent of the amount of water that 5 million people need to survive. For example, it requires 10,000 litres of water to manufacture a single pair of jeans and 20,000 liters of water to produce just 1kg of cotton.
  • Animal exploitation: quality wool, leather and down products, for example, last decades. And its better if you obtain vintage clothes of these materials because they were already made and there was no need of another animal suffering.

3- Shop vintage clothing prevents human exploitation

“The 100% of Zara’s production in Asia is child labor”, said Ehsan Ullah Khan, Pakistani leader against child slavery. He is the founder and president of the Front for the Liberation of Forced Labor, an organization that since its inception has freed more than 100,000 people from slavery. Ullah Khan currently lives in Sweden as a political refugee.

Nearly all of our clothes are made in countries where workers rights are nonexistent. Garment laborers are exploited because they are forced to work from about 14 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week and just gaining $3 per day in terrible conditions.

A report from 2018 published that forced labor and child labor exist in the fashion industry in different contries like Argentina, India, Brazil, China, and more. You can see the report here.

Moreover, as time goes by more and more brands are sharing lists and details about their workers and wages. But it’s not enough because there’s still forced labor and the 80% of garment workers are women.

Therefore, if you shop vintage and you stop buying fast fashion clothing, you are not supporting slave work and you help local shops that buy vintage clothing.

In this video you will see a bit more of the textile workers sad reality.

4- Is cheaper

Being pre-owned, the vintage clothes cost a lot less money than new items. Of course that the prices depend on its label, materials and if it’s from a designer or don’t. But surely you will pay less money. So if you love saving or just don’t like to spend lots of money on clothes then vintage clothing is ideal for you!

5- You will find unique pieces

When you enter into a vintage clothing store you will find that every item is one of a kind. So if you have some vintage clothes in your wardrobe it will be different from the rest. And that’s fantastic because it ensures unique style. This also means that you have the chance to explore your personal style. It encourages creativity. So don’t doubt at the time of play with clothes and try on new things. Because you don’t know until you try!

Where buy vintage clothing?

Well, it is possible that if you have reached at this point you are interested on buying vintage clothing. And now it comes the big question: Where can I buy vintage clothing? Something very very easy to do is google it. “Where buy vintage clothing in…” and your city’s name. Besides you can search it through Instagram. Nowadays it is a good tool for locals to sell.

Also if you ask your friends and family maybe they know a vintage clothing store somewhere near you. Don’t doubt on asking because you can be surprised by their answers.

I hope being of help with all this information. And hope you enjoyed it. If you have any question or comment you can write me on my Instagram profile @belromano or right here on comments.

If you liked this post I recommend you to read Fast Fashion vs Slow Fashion for much more information.

References:

Sustain your Style Org.

https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-working-conditions

Ecological Footprint and Water Analysis of Cotton, Hemp and Polyester.

https://mediamanager.sei.org/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-EcologicalFootprintAndWaterAnalysisOfCottonHempAndPolyester-2005.pdf

Good on you

https://goodonyou.eco/

UNECE

https://unece.org/forestry/news/fashion-environmental-and-social-emergency-can-also-drive-progress-towards#

U.S. Department of Labor

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods

1 thought on “5 Reasons why shop vintage clothing”

  1. Pingback: Vintage treasures: my unboxing ~ Lets Speak Fashion

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