Why shopping in charity shops is beneficial

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece for Oxfam Boutique’s blog about the benefits of shopping in charity shops. I thought, as buying second hand is a great form of sustainable fashion, I should also share the piece on here:

There are many reasons why shopping in charity shops can be beneficial. Everyone who buys second hand has their own motivations whether that be price, environmental reasons, a desire to help charity or a combination of all these. However, with the Welsh Government looking into proposals to reduce business rate relief for charity shops, I thought it would be a good idea to reiterate the benefits of shopping in charity shops and the reasons people do it.

Ethical reasons

The Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh earlier this year and the death of 1,132 garment workers revived the debate on the dubious conditions factory employees often have to work in, usually for a wage of £25 a month. Buying from fair trade and ethical brands may be a way to avoid this. However, this may not always be financially viable.

Therefore, although many charity shops may sell clothes which were originally produced by high street brands who engage in the fast fashion culture, buying second hand means the customer is one step removed from the company; they are not buying directly from the company and the company isn’t making a profit from their purchase.

                                   Photo by LJM Photography

It helps the environment  

Buying from charity shops is a great form of recycling. It’s a way to re-use good quality items that one person may no longer want and may otherwise go to landfill. According to WRAP, approximately 1.4 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year in the UK alone. This can lead to an array of problems as certain products, such as synthetic materials, don’t decompose and others that do decompose, such as woollen items, produce methane which leads to global warming.

Further, by buying second hand clothes you can reduce the pressure on ‘virgin’ resources, which can lead to less clothes being produced and reduce the level of pollution in their manufacture and transportation.

It helps charity

By shopping in a charity shop, you are helping the charity that runs that shop. Therefore, the money you spend is going to a worthwhile cause. Oxfam focuses on an array of issues tackling the root causes of poverty including food, water, health, education and gender inequality. Further, they are running several campaigns at the moment, including their Love Syria campaign for which Oxfam Boutique held an awareness-raising Model March event, earlier this month (which you can read about here).  For every £1 donated to Oxfam: 43p goes to development work, 36p goes to emergency responses, 9p goes to support and running costs, 7p goes to fundraising and 5p goes to campaigning for change.

An entire outfit I bought from a charity shop for around £15

It saves money  

Clothes are cheaper when you buy them from charity shops and, in many cases, will still have the original labels on or are in such great condition, they are as good as new.  Not only can you find great bargains and unique vintage items in charity shops, there will always be an eclectic mix of items on offer. In Oxfam Boutique, as with many other charity shops, people often donate incredible designer and vintage items which are then sold at a fraction of their original price.

Although some high street stores and supermarket chains now sell cheap clothes which can compete with charity shop prices, buying second hand often means your items are more unique, better quality and helping charity – so you can buy them with a completely clear conscience.

Model March for Oxfam’s Love Syria Campaign

As some of you may know, I volunteer at Oxfam Boutique and on the first Saturday of August we hosted a great event which saw a parade of models take to the streets of Cardiff’s city centre to raise awareness for Oxfam’s Love Syria campaign.  Styled in beautiful designer clothes, including the likes of Alexander McQueen and Jimmy Choo, which had been donated to the Boutique, the models marched around the castle, Queen St and The Hayes with a ‘Follow us’ stake board, handing out flyers and encouraging the public to join them.

Back at the shop, professional make-up artist, Annalie Gunner, and volunteer stylists were on hand to offer style advice and pampering to customers. There was also music by Oxfam volunteer Ellie Makes Music, who is a regular on the Cardiff gig circuit and whose debut EP will be available to purchase on iTunes in September, and professional photography by Lisa-Jane Meates. Live models posed in the windows smiling and waving to passersby.

The models outside Cardiff Castle

Our manager at the Boutique, Laura John, felt the day went fabulously and said, “It was a great day where we were able to showcase our talented volunteers and amazing clothes which we have in store. We managed to promote not only the shop but also our “Love Syria” campaign, which is an extremely important campaign to Oxfam at the moment. With over 100,000 deaths since the beginning of the war, and 6.8 million people in need of aid in Syria and surrounding countries, we hope that we have gained some supporters and made an impact on the people of Cardiff.”

The models in the town centre with music from Ellie Makes Music

The plight of the Syrian people at the moment really is tragic. The conflict in Syria has been escalating for over two years and is the worst humanitarian crisis in nearly 20 years. The conflict began with demonstrations, which were part of the larger Arab Spring Movement, and called for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has held the presidency since 1971. The Syrian army was deployed to suppress the protests and soldiers opened fire on demonstrators the length and breadth of the country, with the protests growing into an armed rebellion. Many Western governments, the European Union, the United Nations and the Arab League have condemned the use of violence against the protestors but debate still rages about whether some Western countries should stage a military intervention.

Oxfam’s Love Syria appeal is one of their biggest to date and they have helped more than 200,000 people in Syria and plan to help hundreds of thousands more.

After the success of the first Model March, we hope to host more events to raise awareness and funds for Oxfam’s appeals.

Oxfam Boutique’s Model March

This Saturday, Oxfam Boutique will be hosting a Model March in Cardiff city centre to help raise money for Syria.

From 11am, models styled in clothes from the shop, including some great designer gear from the likes of Alexander McQueen, Mulberry and Jimmy Choo, will parade the streets of Cardiff’s city centre, covering St Mary Street, Queen Street and The Hayes, with photographs being taken at landmarks across the city.

In store, there will be style consultants and hair and make-up stylists as well as entertainment and  photography by Lisa-Jane Meats.

Image: Oxfam Boutique

So why don’t you pop along for a style consultation, a bit of pampering or a new outfit? The weather’s looking promising so hopefully see you there.

They’ll be live tweeting throughout the day, follow them at @oxfam_boutique.

Confessions of a sustainable fashion blogger

I blog about sustainable fashion and, as you would hope, feel strongly about wearing sustainable clothes and brands that use fabrics and manufacturing methods which have minimal impact on the environment and pay their staff fairly. I feel that big companies have a responsibility, not only to the environment and their employees, but to society at large.  I, therefore, admire brands like Toms, who donate a pair of  new shoes to children in need for every pair purchased. I hate the idea of high street giants making a fast buck off poor workers and I shiver at the damage some clothing production methods do to the environment.

Nonetheless, all that said, I don’t really tend to buy clothes, shoes and accessories from sustainable and ethical brands.

But, and this is a big but, this is not because I don’t like ethical and sustainable brands and the clothes they produce. On the contrary, I often find myself pouring over the People Tree website or enviously eyeing up a pair of my friend’s Toms but, for me, the barrier at the moment is price. While these brands aren’t extortionately expensive by any means, and you can feel rest assured that the extra money is worth the quality and peace of mind, for a recent graduate like me, buying from these brands is something of a luxury, or a treat, that I can ill-afford.

When I tell people I have a blog on sustainable fashion, many of them enthuse about how they want to dress in eco-friendly and ethical brands but are sometimes put off by the price. How sometimes the lure of the likes of Primark, and the temptation of two dresses for a tenner, can be too much. I’m no saint, and the last thing I want to be on this blog is preachy and worthy – I definitely give in to Primark sometimes too!

However, there is an alternative. You can still shop with a clear conscience and on a budget and, when I shop, I try and buy lots of clothes from charity and second-hand shops. I also rummage through jumble sales and vintage fairs and look for inspiration on how to update my already sprawling wardrobe (I am, admittedly, a bit of a clothes hoarder). Followers of this blog may have noticed that many of my posts lean towards promoting pre-loved clothes and this is down to my own experiences.

Hopefully, one day (soon), when I have a steady job and a disposable income, I will buy from ethical brands as a matter of course and they will be my “go to” websites and stores. However, until then, and even after then, there are other options too.

An outfit I bought at a charity shop for £12

An interview with… A thrifter

The recent Dhaka factory collapse in Bangladesh, host to a range of garment factories and shops has, once again, revived the debate on the dubious conditions factory employees often have to work in, usually for a wage of £25 a month. As the consumers, we can choose not to buy into this.

For some inspiration on how you can clothes shop in a more ethical manner, I interviewed thrifter Lea Studden who, after becoming aware of how clothes were produced and the use of sweat shops and slavery to manufacture them, decided to buy only second hand clothes.

Lea wearing an entirely second hand outfit

How long have you been buying only second hand clothes and why did you start?

I have always loved offbeat fashion and never wanted to wear the same clothes as everyone else, so second hand is a good place to start. My conscience speaks quite loudly, so I’ve been aware of ethical trading issues for a while. But in June 2011, through a production by Riverside Performing Arts Company , I learnt more horrible statistics about the production of clothes (particularly mass high street stuff) and the brutal nature of sweat shop trading. It scared me somewhat to think that my hobby of shopping, collecting and assembling outfits was hurting somebody. In fact, clothes and accessories made up 80% of my slavery consumption (take the scary test) so I made an overnight decision to stop contributing to demand.

I couldn’t completely stop wearing mass produced clothes, although I have cut down on buying a lot, but now I just don’t buy anything unless I can tell where it’s come from, ie: it has been ethically sourced or is pre-owned. I figure, if a dress has already been made and paid for and someone has got rid of it, then wearing it means I’m recycling waste, not causing more demand.

A selection of clothes Lea has bought second hand

Are you ever tempted by the high street? / Do you ever make any exceptions (when you need an outfit for a special occasion, for instance)?

Recently, I have been to a lot of weddings, and you can’t always find the right outfit in second hand shops so I ended up buying one new dress for this year, which I’ll accessorise with other thrifted, inherited or homemade stuff to make it different for each wedding. If I do buy new, it’s on several conditions:

1. I really need the item, not just want it (ie undies, shoes – I wear a 35 (2 ½) so it’s hard to find them!)

2. I’ve looked in all the charity shops and fair-trade cooperatives in my area, and can’t find what I need.

3. It’s reduced from the original price- because the ridiculous profit made by the organisation is reduced but the manufacturer has already been paid the normal amount.

Sure, it means sometimes I have to go without or wait a while, but when you think of what good you are doing, I believe it’s worth it. And nowadays there’s a lot of beautiful, fairly-traded stuff out there; you just have to look for it.

What is your favourite item of clothing/ accessory? Why? Where did you get it from?

Quite often, I will like the general look of an item or the pattern on it but it doesn’t fit, or it has an ugly collar, a hidden stain or something, so I’ll alter it. I wear a certain shirt all the time, it was a size 20 and I paid about £3 for it. I took chunks out of the sides, put darts in and made it into a dress, and that was about four years ago. The scraps cut off can then be made into brooches or hair flowers. But my absolute favourite is a shoulder bag my boyfriend gave me from Namaste, a fair-trade Indian company, and the dress it matches. They were both new but ethically sourced and therefore befitting my theory. I’m also quite proud of my snood, which is my first foray into proper knitting.

What has been your best buy?

Aaaaah, I get so excited about this… My favourite! This dress was an absolute steal, it’s Lipsy and should have been £49 but it was brand new, never been worn, tags still on and I got it for a tenner from the Salvation Army! (They originally said five but it just didn’t seem fair!)

Lea wearing the Lipsy dress, a cardigan from a swap party and a snood she knitted

The most kooky thing is probably a faux fur gilet, it’s so unique. I mean, are you going to pay £100 for a fancy label, or get the same one from Topshop that everyone else will buy? Nope, I’m going to deliberately refrain from contributing to the unfair trading practises of this country and many others, turn up with a killer item that definitely no-one else I know owns and rock a real thrift shop look… for £6! I kid you not. It was in the same place, about two weeks after the killer Lipsy dress. Charity shops also mean that the little money you are giving out is going to a good cause, so it’s smiles all round.

Where is the best place to get clothes?

Mostly I go to charity shops because the quality has been checked and you can donate while you spend. But there are also a few fair-trade companies like Namaste for clothes, Shared Earth for jewellery and of course Toms for shoes as well as independent shops and market stalls in many towns. Or you can hold a swap shop party with friends, just bring a bag of stuff you don’t wear and trade it for something you will, it makes for a great evening.

A dress Lea got at a swap party

Do you have any tips/ advice for other people wanting to buy only second hand clothes/ making their own clothes?

I would say, don’t be afraid to try something different. Just because it’s not “in” right now, doesn’t mean it won’t suit you. Start with something you like that is too big and take it in to fit your body. If you’re going to make clothes from scratch, all the usual tricks like “measure twice cut once” are SO true. Listen to your grandma, make do and mend!

Don’t forget to check the source of your fabric; a good haberdashery will be able to tell you at least the company that made it. Get acquainted with the staff in local charity shops, and just keep an eye out for special stuff… if you feel tempted by adverts on TV and in glossy mags just think about those making the clothes you want. There’s so much satisfaction in knowing nothing I am wearing has contributed to slave production. I’m not trying to attack the high street, just be at peace with my own conscience. I’ll keep campaigning for responsible trading, but until it’s a reality I’ll see you at the thrift shop…

An interview with… A crafter

I’ve decided to start a regular ‘An interview with…’ feature on this blog every few weeks. Each interview will focus on a different individual with an interest/skill relating to sustainable fashion. The aim is to offer some inspiration and advice for those of you thinking of taking up a new hobby or wanting to make some sustainable changes to your wardrobe/lifestyle, from those who are in the know.

For the first of these features, I interviewed my friend and sewing enthusiast Aneira Davies. Aneira has her own blog, Street Style Wales, where she writes about her crafting projects and offers tips and advice.

Aneira has her own blog Street Style Wales

When and why did you get in to crafting?

I’ve been interested in crafting since I was a child. I taught myself to sew by hand with the help of my Mum sometime during Primary School. My Mum and my Grandmother are very crafty people and so I was always around them when they were making things. I think the natural next step for me was to start making my own things.

What was the first thing you made?

The first things I remember making were clothes for my dolls that weren’t very good. I remember practising with toilet roll. Then, a few years later, I progressed to sewing beads and hearts made out of fabric or felt on to tops I already owned.

What is the most recent thing you have made?

Some bunting and some pompom earrings for my Mum for Mother’s day.

Aneira made her Mum some earrings for Mother’s day

What is your favourite thing that you have made?

Probably the first dress I ever made. I bought myself a sewing machine about six years ago for the purpose of making clothes and I bought this fabric with roses all over it. It had shirring at the top and I imagined it as a strappy summer dress. It was slightly wonky, but it represented the first piece of clothing I ever made. Other than that, I knitted a snood last year which I wear all the time and still love.

Aneira modelling the snood she recently made

What has been your biggest crafting disaster?

I made a dress once and everything was fine until I realised that I’d sewn the skirt in the wrong place. It was a nightmare to fix and I think I left it for about six months, because I was so reluctant to undo the stitches. I’m more careful now, although mistakes always happen.

Mistakes can always happen

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I get inspiration from TV programmes and films, clothes I see in shops and clothes I see people wearing on the street. A lot of the time, when it comes to dresses especially, I have an outline in my head and just follow variations of that outline.

A dress made from Liberty fabric

What is your favourite crafting magazine/ blog?

My favourite crafting magazines are Mollie Makes and Cloth, but I’m pretty excited about a new craft magazine launch called Crafty. I like the Mollie Makes blog and websites such as www.fellowfellow.com, www.themakingspot.com, www.abeautifulmess.com, www.honestlywtf.com and www.knitandbake.com.

Mollie Makes magazine

What advice would you give people hoping to take up a craft?

Keep at it! When you’re starting out, it always feels as if you’re not very good, but crafting takes time and you will get better at it. Start off making something small, for example a phone case, cushion cover or tote bag if you’re learning to sew. Then read as many crafting blogs as you can find, as these give you inspiration and guidance. Attending craft classes, such as Stitch ‘n Bitch, can also help. And take up one craft at a time, as too many can become overwhelming.

A doorstop Aneira made for a friend

What is your favourite craft (sewing, knitting etc…)?

Definitely sewing, just because I’ve always sewn and probably always will. I find it less time consuming than knitting and I can make things pretty quickly.

Hard at work

What do you plan to make next?

I have two ideas at the moment. My first is going to be sewing a motif on to a pre-bought jumper, as it’s pretty easy to do. The next is to make a dress from a pattern I got with a magazine, as I haven’t made a dress in a while.

Introducing… Lottie’s

We have had a vintage clothes and accessories stall at Buffalo Boutique for the last three months and thought it was about time to give the stall a name so, drum roll please, we decided on Lottie’s. I’m toying with the idea of calling it Dotty Lottie’s because I personally love anything polka dot and it seems other people do too – with polka dot items being the most popular on the stall!

We’re also hoping to attend more vintage fairs and maybe even set up a website. For more news, watch this space!

The recent Buffalo Boutique (Monday 18^th March) was a great event, with the usual Urban Outfitters catwalk show and even a stall by Lush.

Here are some pictures of the event, our stall and some of what we had on offer :

Easter treats

Lottie’s

Charm necklace

Seaside blouse

Tartan jacket

Polka dot dress

A guide to vintage clothes shopping

Investing in some vintage pieces is a great way to dress sustainably, as vintage garments have been handed down the generations and are made to last – in sharp contrast to today’s throw-away clothes culture.

Not only are vintage clothes better quality than many of the clothes available today, they are also more unique, significantly cutting down the chances of you turning up at a party in the same dress as someone else.

I’ve featured several vintage shops and fairs on here but it occurred to me a shopping guide may be useful, as vintage clothes shopping can sometimes be tricky.

Split Ends Vintage stall in Cardiff Fashion Quarter

What exactly does ‘vintage’ mean?

The term ‘vintage’ is bandied about a lot but what actually constitutes vintage clothing?

Vintage clothing refers to clothing from a previous era. Clothes from the 1920s until 20 years before the current era are generally considered to be vintage. So, clothes made in between 1920-1990 are considered vintage today.

What’s the difference between the terms ‘vintage’ and ‘antique’?

Antique items are older than vintage items. Generally, items dating pre-1920 are considered to be antique.

What does ‘retro’ mean?

Retro items are something different again. Short for ‘ retrospective’, retro clothing usually refers to clothing which replicates the style of a previous era.

Where’s the best place to buy vintage pieces?

You can buy vintage clothing and accessories from a range of places, varying from specialist vintage shops and fairs to charity shops and even jumble sales and car boot sales. You are more likely to snag a bargain at a jumble or car boot sale. However, vintage shopping at these places does require more time and effort searching through stock but, if you are persistent, your efforts will usually pay off!

Where’s best to go vintage clothes shopping in Cardiff?

Some of the best places I’ve found in Cardiff include:

– The charity shops along Albany and Wellfield Road

– Cardiff Fashion Quarter (CFQ), Womanby Street

– The Pumping station, Penarth Road

Accessories on offer at the Pumping Station

– Jacobs Antique Market, West Canal Wharf

–Oxfam Boutique, St Mary’s Street

Oxfam Boutique

– Hobo’s, High Street Arcade

–St Mary Street market every Saturday

– Buffalo Boutique, upstairs in Bufflao bar on the last Monday of every month

A model on the catwalk show at Buffalo Boutique

-Northcote Lane market in Milgi, City Road on the first Sunday of every month

-The £1 jumble sale in Milgi on the third Sunday of every month

(I’m sure there are many more brilliant places I have missed, so if anyone has any more suggestions, I’d love to hear about them)

So now you know where to go, here are some tips to help you pick the pieces for you:

– Go shopping with an open mind and set aside several hours or even the whole day. You may not be sure about something on the hanger but love it once you’ve tried it on. This has happened to me on numerous occasions.

I wasn’t sure about this outfit on the hanger but loved it when I tried it on

– Try and find out a garment’s age – not only so you know what you’re wearing is the real deal but also, knowing the age of an item will help you look after it. Often, the seller will know the age of an item and can advise you on washing instructions etc…

– Labels can be a useful indication to help you age an item of clothing. Care labels on clothes were introduced in the early 1970s. So, if you find one of these inside an item of clothing, you can tell that it was made in the 1970s or later.

– Most clothes made before the 1950s were made by hand, so they won’t have any labels inside them. However, this is not a blanket rule and some clothes made before 1950 may have been made by a designer or shop and so have a label inside.

– A useful label to look out for when trying to date clothes is the ‘Utility label’ or the ‘CC41 label’, which was used as a result of war time shortages during and immediately after WWII. Clothes were rationed from 1941, as the amount of fabric and fasteners that could be used in each item was limited. This rationing was called Civilian Clothing 1941 (hence the CC41 label) and continued until 1952 when it ended.

The CC41 label on an item of clothing

-The style of a label may also help you date an item. For example, labels in clothes from the 1960s will usually be colourful and fun.

– The fabric used to make a garment can also be a clue to its age. Before the mid 1950s, most clothes were made from natural materials such as silk, cotton and wool. However, polyester was introduced in the mid-1950s and lycra items are usually reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s.

– Whether an item has a zip, and the material of the zip, can be important as zips weren’t generally used before the 1940s. Metal zips were used in between the 1940s and 1960s and plastic zips were introduced in the 1960s. However, while this is a general guide, use this indicator alongside the others mentioned above as, on some items, a metal zip may have  been replaced later with a plastic one.

-Be careful with fur. Real fur was popular in previous eras and was not the taboo it is today. Many vintage shops will stock real fur items so just be aware of this and how you feel about wearing it. Make sure you stay well clear of fur from endangered animals, such as leopards, as the trade of their furs has been banned!

I hope these tips have been useful but, most importantly, vintage clothes shopping should be fun and provide you with the opportunity to stand out.  So, the number one rule, regardless of everything else, is enjoy yourself!

Stall at Buffalo Boutique

Next Monday, 28^th January, from 7pm, I will be a stall holder at the Buffalo Boutique in Buffalo bar, Windsor Place. This monthly event, which takes place in the upstairs bar, plays host to a range of stalls including those selling vintage clothes, handmade jewellery and even cupcakes. This month, there will also be an exclusive Urban Outfitters catwalk show as well as style advisors on hand and a new gin cocktail menu.

To find out more, visit the event’s Facebook page.

I will be selling a range of vintage and vintage style clothes, jewellery, accessories and ornaments. Here is a small sample of what I will be selling:

 

Cardiff Fashion Quarter: Review

This week, I visited Cardiff Fashion Quarter (CFQ), a converted cinema on Womanby Street that is now a hub of all things vintage, handmade and just outright cool.

Even before you enter the building, you are greeted by a colourful and distinctive graffiti wall, which stands out and vibrantly sets the tone of what to expect inside; the kind of place where you can easily lose yourself for an afternoon, rummaging through the stalls and finding treats you never expected to unearth.

The outside of CFQ

Graffiti style image on outside wall

If you’re a fan of the likes of Jacobs Antiques Market and the Pumping Station, then you’ll love CFQ, which hosts an assortment of quirky stalls by holders such as Penny Lane Vintage, Nelly’s treasure trove, Milk Five Sugars and 199a, each bursting with an assortment of retro and handmade clothes, jewellery, trinkets and furniture.

Penny Lane Vintage Boutique

Milk Five Sugars stall

View from upstairs balcony

Like the treasures that can be found in this Aladdin’s cave, this is a gem in Cardiff’s centre. I’d strongly recommend giving CFQ a visit; many of the stalls are very reasonably priced too. Bonus! I’ll leave you with some more pictures to whet your appetite.              

Nelly’s Treasure Trove

Felt badges at Nelly’s stall

Split Ends Vintage stall