What are the ethical questions around second hand clothes? When recently I culled my wardrobe of unnatural textiles, shedding everything not 100% cotton, pure wool, linen or silk, some said I was being wasteful and challenged my ‘dumping’ unwanted things.
Those comments made me ask was it acceptable for me to pass on my unwanted items of clothing to others? Was I merely indulging a personal whim? ‘First–world’ whirled in my head. As I grew up surrounded by values reflecting frugality, this caused me to stop and think. Am I wasteful?
Having made my decision to go the natural fibre route, these clothes would just have been clogging up my cupboard, surely far better for them to be donated, then sold to benefit a charity. Could they become new treasures for someone else, my decision actually creating an opportunity for someone to get themselves a bargain pair of hardly worn Cue work pants, or a fabulous vintage Betty Barclay jacket, a favourite of mine for over 20 years? Continue reading “Second-hand ethics”
fifty things 2016 