Roughly three in four Australians buy preloved clothing, survey finds

Research by Reluv, an online fashion retailer, in partnership with Monash University students, has revealed that about 75 per cent of Australians purchased used clothing last year.

According to their Fashion Resale Report 2022, economic considerations follow sustainability as the primary two motivators of second-hand clothing purchases.

The study found that 73 per cent of Australians said they purchase pre-owned apparel, 80 per cent believe they wear less than 60 per cent of their wardrobe, and 95 per cent give their unwanted items to op shops or other charitable organisations.

“In the [inaugural] 2021 report, we found that 72 per cent of consumers said they’d purchased an item of preloved clothing in the past 12 months, and I thought that seemed like a really high number – maybe too high,” said Karen Freidin, the founder of Reluv. 

“Prior to this report, there wasn’t a lot of information about what was happening in Australia. There wasn’t that collective information about what consumers were doing, and I thought, how are we going to track our progress as we strive for a more sustainable fashion industry?”

But the new research backed up the earlier report, proving a genuine trend towards sustainable fashion.  

Reluv is an online marketplace where people can sell their secondhand clothing. The company aims to keep clothes in circulation for a longer period of time in order to reduce apparel production.

Reluv found in its previous study that more than 73 per cent of textiles used in the global fashion industry are thrown in landfills rather than being reused, resold, or recycled.

Further reading: Step inside the UK’s first department store for secondhand clothes.

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