Is Purchasing Vintage Clothing Good for the Environment?

Now, more than ever, giving back to the environment is incredibly important. As lovers of vintage fashion and the Earth, we appreciate how much buying second-hand can decrease our waste and increase sustainability in our own lives and the lives of our clothing.

New clothing and fast fashion is being made every single day and having harsh consequences on our planet. According to an article on Refinery 29, it takes 2,720 liters of water to manufacture one shirt. The average person also throws away $89 USD worth of clothing every year, and because of that, 300,000 tons of clothing are sent to landfills every single year!

Why should we have to use once and toss when it comes to our clothes? Why not give life back into our clothing, and in turn, give life back into the environment? Here are a few reasons why purchasing and encouraging the sales of vintage clothing is good for the planet:

It reduces textile waste.

By buying second-hand clothes, you’re saving an item of clothing that would otherwise get thrown away into the landfill with the rest of the clothes that are tossed every year. You’re also increasing the longevity of that item – vintage clothing can be given up to 10 years of extra life by being purchased and worn by different people! We tend to throw out clothing too soon as it is – appreciate your vintage item by giving it a new chance at life.

It’s eco-friendly.

When you purchase vintage clothing, rather than spending money on something new, you’re helping decrease the amount of water being used to create clothing. Less demand equals less supply, so the amount of water needed will decrease (at least, that is the goal!). This water can then be used for something more important, such as becoming clean drinking water for third-world countries.

On top of that, emissions from clothing factories can decrease. Again, less demand means less of that clothing will be made, which means that the factories won’t be using as many resources and pumping pollutants into the air. One person may not make these drastic of changes, but if we all came together and embraced vintage clothing purchases, we can make a huge difference!

It encourages community.

You’re not only giving back to the environment when you purchase vintage clothing, but you’re also giving back to your own community and the community of the store owner. By buying from small boutique shops or online boutiques, your money is going directly to the business owner, who then can use that profit to find other vintage pieces to add to the store inventory, rather than purchasing bulk clothing from a factory.

It promotes recycling.

By supporting your local vintage shops and online vintage stores, you’re putting out in the world that you’re an advocate for recycling! People learn by example, so chances are, you may encourage your friends or family to start buying second-hand as well! Also, by donating any clothing items to a vintage store, rather than tossing them out, you can have a hand in giving people the joy of luxury clothing at a fraction of the cost – again, giving life to what you thought was a dead piece of clothing!

Vintage clothing comes with a copious amount of examples on how it is good for the environment, the community, and your closet. The next time you’re looking to get a new outfit, consider going to a vintage store or purchasing something off ThisBlueBird – you’ll find something that is uniquely you and not have to feel guilty about your purchase! The Earth will thank you.

How often do you purchase vintage clothing? Let us know in the comments!