Any nerves about the tempermental Scottish weather spoiling the fun were quickly put to rest with what turned out to be a glorious Saturday (21 October 2020). This thrift sale with the clothes donated via St AndReuse was the first large face-to-face event we’ve managed to run this semester. And boy did it go down a treat!
The people that attended were respectful and patient, our volunteers were proactive and inspired and everyone seemed to have a great time. In the end, we saw 91 people (including volunteers) attend the event; we sold 122kgs of clothes, the people valued the sold items at over £3000; and the reusing of secondhand clothes saved 2.6 tonnes of carbon!
#EndFastFashion
Our prices were cheap: £5 for 1-5 items, or £10 for 6-10 items. Aware that this may encourage the excessive and unnecessary consumption of clothes, it was essential that we also showcase the negative sides to fashion. Not just environmentally but also socially. For a more positive impact we needed to justify running an event like this and hopefully trigger some discussion. We sourced our statistics from Sustain Your Style.
Environmental Impacts:
And the social inequality:
We displayed these on a board for people to read while they lined up. More than just reading the statistics, there was an opportunity for greater engagement here. We asked people to share their thoughts on how we can lower the impacts of our fashion choices, both as individuals and as a collective.
Post-its had responses like, “buy used before buying new”, “learn to sew and repair”, “don’t follow fashion trends”, “exchange items of clothing with your friends”, “boycott H&M + support local businesses”.
One response we were particularly excited about was the call for more events like this. With that in mind, we’re already in the planning stages for another. Keep an eye out folks!
