ENTREPRENEURS cashing in on the booming second-hand clothing market have been lauded by environmentalists for playing their part in helping to reduce the carbon footprint caused by the fast fashion industry.
In Cape Town’s busy CBD pavements are lined with traders who have set up railings of second-hand clothes, bags and shoes. Shops also sell preloved fashion and online stores offer vintage finds.
The latest data from one of the largest online resale platforms ThredUp, for women’s and childrens’ clothes showed that the second-hand apparel market was expected to grow by 127% by 2026.
And with environmentalists calling for more responsibility in the high production of clothing items that end up polluting landfill sites, many South African entrepreneurs are creating a sustainable chain of used-clothing to make money and helping to save the environment.
Second-hand vendor, Bagate Ben Mohamed, 43, began selling clothes in 2011 in Cape Town’s CBD after seeing a gap in the market .
Mohamed sells a variety of clothing items - catering for every season, with winter being his busiest time.
“I enjoy selling second-hand clothing because of the affordability. I am happy seeing my people wearing unique and quality clothing with more durable quality than some brand new brands,” said Mohamed.
He explained that that being an informal trader on the street presented a number of challenges, especially related to weather and stock availability.
Mohamed said he earned roughly R30 000 to R50 000 per month and has even added a card machine for customers wishing to use their bank cards.
Senior lecturer at CPUT’s Clothing and Textile Technology department, Dr Sweta Patnaik, said the overproduction of clothing left a negative environmental footprint.
Patnaik explained that at least one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second globally, with approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry made from plastic.
“Over 500 000 tons of microfibres are released into the ocean each year from washing clothes, (which is) equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles,” said Patnaik.
Patnaik added that the fashion industry was responsible for 8-10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, which is more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
“If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, that share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050,” he added.
“While the fashion sector is booming, increasing attention has been brought to the impressive range of negative environmental impacts that the industry is responsible for.
“Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity's carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams,” added Patnaik.
Professor Guy Midgley, interim director of the School for Climate Studies at the University of Stellenbosch, said second-hand clothes aided in reducing the environmental costs associated with the production of clothing - including dyes, transportation and manufacturing.
"An industry that extends the life of items can reduce demands on the environment as long as their extended use does not impose other environmental costs. Clothing is a good example, particularly clothing for children who outgrow clothes fast," said Midgley.
He said the demand for clothes is driven by advertising and peer pressure in advanced economies, and almost certainly ,clothing is overproduced.
Chic Mamas is a registered non-profit organisation selling “pre-loved” items in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town.
The organisation recently celebrated having donated R10 million to early childhood development projects across South Africa since their inception in 2010. They pride themselves in selling good quality clothing which helps them support educational projects.
Founder Abigél Sheridan said: “Just last year, Chic Mamas sold over 11,000 pre-loved garments. Moreover, thousands of tons of pre-loved clothing were donated to vulnerable communities, fire appeals, community shops and other projects”.
One of the organisations that benefited from Chic Mama is Butterfly Art Project and True-North Early Childhood Development. They have been supported by Chic Mamas for more than 11 years now.
Weekend Argus