Is fast mode killing the op shop? The old saver says it's getting harder and harder to find treasure
Sue Carmichael shoots through a skirt rack at her local operations shop in Goulburn, New South Wales.
Longtime savers don’t have to look at brands to know which one is from “one of those chains”.
He took out one to demonstrate.
“The elastic goes down and sits well, but your eyes can tell,” he says.
The 58-year-old almost exclusively buys second-hand goods.
Today, she was looking for a pair of white shoes for an event in Brisbane, but she said it was getting harder and more expensive to find good quality items at the op shop.
The advent of fast fashion has disrupted the traditional life cycle of clothing with fewer clothes designed with the second or third owner in mind.
Laura Washington, head teacher at The Fashion Design Studio at TAFE NSW, says fast fashion is the opposite of the heirloom clothing that thrifters cherish.
“The life of these garments is greatly reduced – things like the grain lines (weaving of the fabric) falling out of their correct alignment after one or two washes, clothes are easier to disassemble, due to construction and sometimes poor workmanship or fast workmanship,” he says.
But amid reports that the golden age of austerity is over, longtime buyers say there’s still treasure to be found if you’re ready to wade through the glut of fast fashion on the shelves.
Ms Washington describes herself as an avid thrift shopper and encourages her students to look for used clothes to rework.
“I can still find the little treasure,” he said.
Request for change
An Australian Fashion Council (AFC) report released this week found that Australians buy 14.8 kilograms of clothing each year, or 56 new items, at an average cost of $6.50 each.
Most end up in landfill – 10kg worth per person is dumped every year.
AFC report writer Peter Allan told ABC Radio Sydney’s Drive program that the number of clothes bought had doubled in 25 years, but society was demanding change.
“Consumers are now pushing back the other way and saying, ‘We’re looking for something more durable’ – something a little more timeless in style and trying to extend the life expectancy of our clothes,” she says.
Industry has responded by establishing a National Apparel Product Stewardship Scheme to find ways to reduce textile waste, including proposed levies on clothing imports.
That’s good news for op buyers in the long run.
Salvos Stores customer experience manager Aife O’Loughlin said dealing with fast fashion volume was a huge challenge, but he was optimistic Australian industry and consumers were changing their habits.
He said after having had this conversation many times over the past five years, he had noticed a change.
“[There’s] “This priority and this focus locally in Australia is around what we’re going to do, how we’re going to mobilize the industry, how we’re going to make a difference, and how we’re going to engage charitable retail to keep products out for as long as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ms O’Loughlin said there are no hard and fast rules for dealing with fast-fashion donations.
“Obviously it depends on the condition the item is in, and whether it will be sold in the local community or not,” he said.
Hunting sensation
When Alex van Os grew up in Avalon, on Sydney’s North Shore, he didn’t want to wear what everyone else was wearing.
Load
He prefers to rummage through the op shop.
“I already had a strong sense of personal style at a young age, even in elementary school, and I thought the op shop just allowed me to experiment,” she says.
Now a sustainability stylist, Ms van Os says the volume of fast mode on the shelves has drained some of that excitement.
“The shelves are very full when you go to the op shop, which is great, but you have to sift through so many fast modes,” he said.
He remains a strong advocate for buying from a charity-run op shop.
“Whether I might only find one item rather than maybe before I found three or five items, I still know that my money will help other people and stop clothes from going to landfill, which is very important to me,” she said. .
Digital selling platforms have also transformed the used clothing market, with high-quality items being sold online.
Salvos Stores is one of several charities operating online stores to sell selected brands and sought-after antiques.
But for loyal op shop customers, nothing beats the thrill of finding treasure firsthand.
“An op shop is a place where you can clear your head, because it’s a different kind of buzz in the store – it’s not music that goes and ‘sell, sell, sell,'” Ms Carmichael said.
“There are people who have stories.
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