According to a 2020 study,* the fashion industry creates 92 million tonnes of waste per year and consumes 1.5 trillion litres of water. Chemical pollution and high levels of CO2 emissions add to the problem of fast fashion, and mass manufacturing as a whole.
As ethical shoppers, we can all do our bit – by buying fewer new clothes, and increasing garment lifetimes.
Buying second-hand from St Peter’s Hospice shops is a simple way to break the cycle of fast fashion, and give clothes a longer life.
We also sell many other preloved items, including books, toys and homeware, and end-of-line brand new items from accessories to furniture which might otherwise go to landfill.
* The environmental price of fast fashion, Kirsi Niinimäki et al, Nat Rev Earth Environ 1, 189–200 (2020).
