A new image, more in line with the times

During the marvellous years of economic boom we have enjoyed, we have constantly bought and thrown out thousands of tonnes of all kinds of products, including clothes. Every day, dustmen found piles of clothes which people had only worn once: the “throwaway” culture taken to the extreme.

Second-hand clothes were talked about a lot, but why did the idea never take off? Thanks to Amancio e Isidoro, fashion clothing was relatively cheap, so we always preferred a new dress to a used one. It’s the same reason why, for many years, it was more usual to buy a flat under construction (and be the first to use it) than to buy an older flat requiring improvements.

However, the age of waste is over. The time for ostentation, the clearly visible logo and the 2,000 Euro it bag has come to an end. But does that mean we can no longer enjoy fashion, shopping and the latest trends? No, indeed not! The new consumer goes shopping as often as before, but:

- She looks for her favourite brands in outlet stores, private sales or the Internet.
- She buys in the Salvation army stores, well-known in first world countries for their network of second-hand stores where they raise money for their charity activities.
- She buys clothes which will last for more than one season, in some cases even with a guarantee of duration of over ten years.
- She rents her children’s clothes (children grow too quickly).
- She arranges bring and buy sales with her best friends.
- She gets discounts for returning clothes to the shops after use

And all this does not imply stinginess or misery. Our capacity for adaptation to the environment is what has helped us survive as a species. This is the real climate change.

The spanish version on Gratis Total ’s blog