#PollutionisPants and the environmental significance of second-hand clothing
Launching on 8th April 2021 #PollutionisPants celebrates the joy and environmental significance of second-hand clothes in the lead up to Fashion Revolution Week (19th - 25th April). The ‘pants’ bit refers to the fact that pants are one of the very few items you can’t get second-hand – no quibbles there – and the ‘pollution’ bit to the fact that so much wearable clothing ends up in landfill or polluting incinerators. In the lead up to COP26 I think there are so many good choices that we are all already making that we should be feeling good about. Second-hand clothing is one of them.
#PollutionisPants is a joint initiative between St Andrews University student society 'Sustainable Style', Transition St Andrews and Big Dreams Little Footprints. We are asking people to share their efforts to keep clothes out of landfill by:
1. Choosing and wearing a favourite second-hand/rented/vintage/inherited/swapped item of clothing and writing the following on a placard: #PollutionisPants. Then write down what you’re wearing and where you got it from (website*/ charity shop/ swapping event/ a specific person).
*See bottom of page for second-hand websites.
2. If you're feeling bold, pop a pair of your best pants on your head, then take a selfie with your placard (if you’re shy wear a mask, or get a teddy or pet to stand in for you).
3. Print out the photo and display it in your window, share on social media between 8th and 25th April using the hashtags #pollutionispants and #fashionrevolutionweek (tag the relevant retailer, charity or person) OR simply share your selfie with us (anonymously if you like) so that we can promote it (info@bigdreamslittlefootprints.org).
Get the kids involved
For families, this campaign presents a fun opportunity to look at just how many items you and your child have, that someone else used to wear, and to explain how wonderful preloved clothes are, full of so many adventures already, and how much of a ‘well done’ we all deserve for keeping clothes out of the bin. It’ll turn into an all-out fashion show, I bet you!
If the items you choose have been hand-me-downs from others, why not tell those people directly how much you love what they have given you - that you appreciate their thoughtfulness and effort. You’ll make their day! Trying to find second-hand children’s clothing in charity shops or online isn’t (always) an option for time-poor parents so hand-delivered hand-me-downs are hugely welcome. Then you could ask them to take up the mantle and get involved in the campaign.
Why it’s small ‘p’ political action
In the UK we bin 3.5 tonnes of clothing every minute. Wearing second-hand clothes keeps them out of the bin but also avoids the need to buy brand new. This is a double win because pollution and exploitation are commonplace at the cheaper end of the fashion industry. Wearing second-hand clothes is small ‘p’ political action, a radical yet understated kind of activism that everyone can participate in. It is consumer power at its most inclusive.
If you spend less by buying second-hand, then you can spend better when you buy brand new because you’ll have a little bit more in your pocket. Buying better means fair wages and safe working environments for labourers, less wasteful and polluting manufacturing practices, and better-quality fibres and workmanship. These items then last longer so you get more for your money and the resale value of better-quality clothes is also higher; they are easier to pass on the charity shops or your friends, too.
What schools can do
Host a non-uniform clothes swap.
Have a second-hand clothing non-uniform day - award prizes for those wearing the greatest number of second-hand items.
Promote use of second-hand uniform with a guess-how-much-uniform-I’m-wearing competition (the pupil puts on as many items as they can). A bit like the ‘guess-how-many-sweeties-are-in-the-jar game. Award a prize.
Second-hand websites
DePop, Preloved, Vinted, Thrift+, I Second That, Oxfam, Traid, Nuw, EBay, Facebook’s Marketplace, Shpock and Gumtree.
Kids - Mini G Preloved (Adults too), Katie’s Kids Clothes, Sweet Pea, Kidclo, Loopster (Adults too), Manifesto Woman (Adults too), Aylsham Kids and Build a Bundle.
Designer - Rebelle (Adults) and Treated with Love (Kids).
Supporters
KoolSkools - fair trade and ethical school uniform
More fun ideas to engage kids on sustainable fashion - ‘How we dress’
About the author: Big Dreams, Little Footprints is an online resource for busy, weary parents to guide and inspire their children to stand up for the natural world, get active in their communities and learn the basics of effecting change.