Regardless of this reality, there has been a trend of positive changes around the world which will hopefully snowball into a bigger shift in shopping habits.

France is paving the way for European countries by considering putting a fine on fast fashion advertisers, following their decision to subsidise the cost of clothing repairs last winter. Across the pond in the USA, California has advanced a bill to hold fast fashion accountable for its waste.

Eager to find out more about how preloved clothes are becoming more popular and sustainable initiatives are taking off around the world, we turned to our global community and asked them to share what their local area thinks of vintage and preloved fashion.

In Europe, it seems like more people are warming to second-hand clothing and becoming more aware of the need to shop preloved rather than buying new.

Vilborg -📍Reykjavík, Iceland

"Vintage stores are getting bigger and bigger here. So people are more aware of what they're buying which is good, but the stores are getting a bit more expensive."

Hanna -📍Leuven, Belgium

"For Poland (where I’m from), I think that people experiment more because a lot of shops ended up being launched in central eastern Europe a lot later than in Western Europe and the UK and North America in general so people are experimenting a lot. There are a lot of people who like thrifting clothes and wearing different oversized clothes. The majority of my clothes are second-hand, I rarely ever buy new clothes."

Kateryna -📍Kyiv, Ukraine

"Vintage things often have much nicer feel than modern ones. That's why I just like to combine them. I think it’s very important not just to go forward but to understand where you coming from, what's your history? What's your tradition?"

Tove -📍Sweden

"I think the whole point of second-hand clothes is that they’re supposed to be cheap and affordable to keep them from ending up in landfill. I think it's great that so many people are getting into thrifting and vintage clothing."

On the other side of the world in Australia, creative communities continue to champion second-hand style:

Celina -📍Melbourne, Australia

"I think in Melbourne one of the most well-known suburbs for its fashion and art is the Fitzroy area and that is sort of characterized by that sort of grungy style- people love vintage, people love thrifting."

We’re proud of our sustainable community pushing for a fairer future of fashion by lowering consumption, wearing clothes they already own, and shopping second-hand.

How does your community perceive preloved clothes? Get in touch and let us know by emailing team@whering.co.uk.

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