Young ditch fast fashion in favour of second-hand clothes

Young ditch fast fashion in favour of second-hand clothes in major eco boost

  • Quarter of young adults bought second hand or rented clothes for Christmas 
  • Fashion industry uses an estimated 98 million tons of non-renewable resources
  • Younger people far more likely to buy second-hand clothes or gifts for Christmas

Young adults are rejecting fast fashion and choosing eco-friendly second-hand clothes instead, research reveals.

Shunning brand new outfits, a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds say they have rented clothes for the festive party season or bought them second-hand.

And 58 per cent said they are likely to do so in future years.

In contrast, only 5 per cent of adults aged over 55 said they were wearing rented or second-hand clothing this Christmas.

The YouGov survey of 2,094 adults, commissioned by the University of Hull, also shows that younger people are far more likely to buy second-hand clothes or gifts for Christmas than the older generations, citing environmental concerns as their main consideration.

The fashion industry uses an estimated 98 million tons of non-renewable resources and creates 92 million tons of waste a year

The university said that renting, re-using or sharing clothes has been thrust into the spotlight in recent years by famous faces keen to highlight environmental and ethical considerations.

These include the Prime Minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, who rented a dress for their wedding in May, and the Duchess of Cambridge, who has developed a reputation for rotating her outfits.

The fashion industry uses an estimated 98 million tons of non-renewable resources and creates 92 million tons of waste a year. 

Professor Dan Parsons, director of Hull University’s Energy and Environment Institute, said: ‘This study clearly shows that – whether driven by an environmental or ethical motive – young people are increasingly turning their backs on fast fashion.

The university said that renting, re-using or sharing clothes has been thrust into the spotlight in recent years by famous faces keen to highlight environmental and ethical considerations

‘We will have to live with the consequences of our throwaway culture for decades, if not centuries, to come, and discarded clothing created by the emergence of fast fashion has played a significant role in what is a tsunami of microplastic waste around the world.

‘It is encouraging to see that young people are now driving a move towards a new environmentally conscious and aware society, renting and hiring clothing, and moving to saying “no” to fast fashion is an important step in the right direction.’

Professor Parsons added: ‘The volume of plastics now in circulation globally means we have effectively entered a new geological period – geoscientists call this the Anthropocene [an age in which human activity has a significant impact on the planet].

‘But the prevalence and distribution of waste plastics in the environment means I think we will eventually call this the Plasticene, the plastic age.’

Hull University also said shoppers were shunning fast fashion due to its reliance on modern-day slavery and exploitation. 

Source: Read Full Article