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Could pre-loved clothes become more popular than buying new?

20th - 27th September 2024

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16320

5-11 votes

53829

11-16+ votes

70149

Total votes

Following a focus on pre-loved pieces at 2024's London Fashion Week, we wanted to hear young people's thoughts on purchasing clothing second-hand. They explored circular fashion and considered how buying habits might shift in the future. Are young people happy to label themselves as slow fashion fans, or will the fascination with fast fashion always take first place? We always strive to make young people’s voices heard and this time, we shared their results with the organisers of Second Hand September themselves, Oxfam.

Primary 5-7 voters discussed, “Would you give away your belongings?”, whilst Primary 7-11, Secondary and College students considered, “Could pre-loved clothes become more popular than buying new?”

We received 70,149 votes for this VoteTopic!

Age 5-11 voter

I think pre-loved clothes could become more popular than new clothes because pre-loved clothes are less expensive than new clothes.

Age 11-16+ voter

If you had the choice to have something new or something old, you'd go for the new. People don't consider the environment when they want new clothes.

Age 16+ voter

Buying pre-loved you may find things you were not expecting to find, rather than just seeing the same things in other shops.

Feedback from our Impact Partners...

Thank you to Rachel at Oxfam GB for her feedback on this topic!

63% of 7-11-year olds argued pre-loved clothes could surpass buying new in popularity.

  • Primary voters aged 5-7 were discussing the question, “Would you give away your belongings?”
  • 63% voted 'Yes'.
  • 7-11-year olds were considering, “Could pre-loved clothes become more popular than buying new?” The majority, also of 63%, voted 'Yes'.
59% of Secondary and College students disagreed, believing that buying new would remain the more common option.

  • Secondary and College voters discussed the same question as 7-11-year olds for this topic: “Could pre-loved clothes become more popular than buying new?”
  • The majority voted 'No' (59% of Secondary students and 55% of College students).
  • However, the vote was a close one and there were lots of arguments both for and against buying second-hand.
Many young people said buying second-hand was an attractive option because of its affordability compared to buying new.

  • The most common argument for voting 'Yes' was that buying second-hand is a much more affordable option.
  • Some young people also highlighted how much better it is for the environment to reuse unwanted fashion.
  • However, some students were concerned about the cleanliness of second-hand clothes and argued they'd lose out on quality if they stopped buying new.
  • Some 'No' voters also said they liked the feeling of buying new clothes and didn't get the same level of joy from purchasing second-hand.
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