Why Consigning Makes Eco-Sense
Fast fashion speeds up need to recycle
Once upon a time, the world was a simpler place - where fashion retailers had just two seasons annually. Now the new norm is 50+ fashion cycles each year. According to a McKinsey & Company report, "The average consumer is now purchasing 60 percent more items of clothing compared to 2000, but each garment is kept half as long."
As disposable fashions take over, the amount of textile waste people are creating is at it's peak. There is a serious ecological cost - contributing to a drain in the world's precious blue-water resources, energy waste and pollution that is damaging our eco-systems.
So why is that such a big deal, and what does this have to do with shopping at Play It Again Kids?
We've pulled together an infographic to illustrate some of the costs and how consignment can help reduce your family's impact.
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One of the most satisfying things about our new, more mainstream, location is that we are bringing the concept of recycling kids' things to many shoppers who may never have gone out of their way to shop 'second hand' for their kids.
It's interesting to watch the initial confusion when new shoppers to our store think everything is new, only to do a double-take at the price, then quickly arrive at that ah-ha moment that much of what we sell is in fact gently used.
They almost unanimously reach the understanding that it just makes perfect sense! It seems to be fueled by an almost universal realization that kids use things for such a short time, and they really don't care how much you spent on something. So why not get back something for what you paid, and make providing for your fast growing kids more manageable?
Before they leave some congratulate us on coming up with such a revolutionary concept! But of course the idea of consignment is far from new...so we sadly can't take the credit for coming up with it! It's their discovery of the concept that is new, and that delights us. Result! And not because we've just converted a new customer and possibly consignor (though that's nice too) but because it means someone else 'gets it'.
They begin to see the insanity of our society's over consumption, and they can see a positive way to help combat that. A course of action which they can share with their kids...to make a better world for them! (Sounds like cheesy rhetoric, but it's true!)
A recycled idea that's more relevant than ever
