At a time when we are being hit pretty hard by a cost of living crisis here in the UK it is more important than ever to consider shopping pre loved fashion.
Pre-loved fashion usually has a much lower price tag than that of something brand new off the rail. Pre-loved doesn’t have to mean settling for something with wear and tear. Think about how many items sit in your wardrobe currently, that you have only worn once and will probably never wear again! These could be true gems in someone else’s closet.
Pre-loved fashion is also the most environmentally friendly way to shop, as it doesn’t involve much of a carbon footprint, or cause more fabric waste to be made. Find out more about pre-loved fashion and why it's so important in 2022.
What Is Pre-Loved Fashion?
Pre-loved is a new term coined to describe ‘second-hand’ goods. Many people may be put off by the term second-hand, which is why the industry has veered towards referring to it as pre-loved.
It may be a designer dress that has been well worn from a store like Brand Alley, or may even still have its tags on, but this strain of fashion is one where the piece has been owned previously. The younger generation is responsible for the wave of sales in pre-owned fashion, in a bid to help the environment, and find items not always produced by fast fashion brands.
The Impact of Love Island’s Collaboration with eBay
Love Island, a UK reality television series, with a viewership of up to 5 million, recently collaborated with eBay to bring pre-loved fashion to the prime 9pm slot on ITV2. Love Island is known for collaborating with fast fashion brands but made a switch-up this year in an attempt to show how easy it can be to shop pre-loved, whilst taking a step to become more sustainable.
Google reports it has seen an increase of 750% in searches for ‘eBay pre-loved clothes' since the Love Island collaboration. Love Island has the power to shift a generation, and taking such a big step with eBay, will hopefully set a precedent for other shows to get on board with reconsidering their sponsorships.
Love Island stars usually announce a collaboration with a fast-fashion brand within days of arriving back in the UK, however, Tasha Ghouri, who came 4th in this year's final, revealed she would be eBay’s first-ever pre-loved ambassador. With someone who will be in the limelight for the foreseeable, it was a big, and clever move by eBay to get Tasha on board, to promote pre-loved fashion beyond the show's final.
Why Is Shopping Pre-Loved So Important in 2022 & Beyond?
Save Money on Your Shopping
Let's be honest, we all love saving money! Whether it’s just because you’re a bargain hunter, or you are hoping to pop the savings in a pot for a rainy day, you’re onto a winner by shopping pre-loved.
Second-hand clothing from stores like Preloved will almost always come with a low price tag, and this doesn’t have to mean that quality is poor! If you’re clever about how you shop, you can even find charity shop gems still with tags on. Another great way of saving money is heading to vintage shops that often do 1KG of clothing/accessories for a set price. Head down early, and you’re likely to pick up the best bits, at a steal of a price.
Make Money on Your Pre-Loved Items
Even if you’ve not yet come around to the idea of wearing second-hand quite yet, that doesn’t mean other people aren’t a fan of it. To get yourself into the pre-loved world, start by clearing out your wardrobe of items that you no longer reach for, and you can make a pretty penny on them!
We’d advise selling on sites such as Preworn, eBay, Vinted and Depop, which make it super easy to list your items. Watch the pounds roll in, as you say goodbye to your pre-worn items, making space for some new garments to spice up your fashion.
Protect the Environment
And finally, pre-loved fashion from stores such as Rapanui Clothing is the most sustainable way to shop, and goes a long way in helping to protect our planet. Fast fashion brands have huge carbon footprints, due to the carbon emissions from flying materials around the world, to the waste fabric that ends up in landfill.
We can all do our bit to protect the environment by shopping pre-loved. By giving a piece of clothing a second lease of life, that’s one less item that needs to be made that can have a detrimental effect on our environment. If all of us took the initiative to shop second-hand over brand new, we would go a long way in protecting our planet.
