As a fourth Second Hand September comes to an end, Retail Week asks whether the campaign has the potential to drive real change in retail – or is the growth of the secondhand economy better served in other ways? 

Coined by charity Oxfam, Second Hand September was created to inspire consumers to only buy secondhand garments for 30 days or more. 

The concept has been gaining momentum, with retailers such as eBay and Depop acting as partners to Oxfam, while the British Retail Consortium (BRC) unveiled its secondhand and pre-loved guidelines for retailers, brands and resale platforms this September to coincide with the campaign.

In general, sustainable thinking and shopping have become more important to the consumer throughout the pandemic, with resale and rental platforms booming. On paper, at least, Second Hand September has the potential to embed itself as a movement like Veganuary or Stoptober.

However, it doesn’t appear to have caught the imagination of the public – or indeed the sector – in quite the same way.

So what impact has Second Hand September had on the consumer adoption of sustainable habits? Is it a catalyst for change or was that change already happening? 

A driving force?

According to Oxfam, 13 million items of clothing go to landfill in the UK every week. The charity aims to both challenge and inspire people to shop in a more considered and sustainable way by recirculating clothes through buying, wearing and donating secondhand items, and ultimately helping to reduce the demand for new clothes.

The movement has grown since it began four years ago; more than 50,000 people shared the hashtag #secondhandseptember last year on social media and it racked up almost 200,000 posts on Instagram.

eBay, which joined Oxfam as a retail partner three years ago, says it “hopes to encourage consumers to continue buying and selling pre-loved items” through its actions during the month of September.

“Retailers and brands play a vital role in helping their customers shop in a more environmentally friendly way to bring about the major change we need”

Lucy Peacock, eBay

The secondhand marketplace allows customers to donate anything between 10% and 100% of their profits to Oxfam during September, as well as matching sales pound for pound.

“Retailers and brands play a vital role in helping their customers shop in a more environmentally friendly way to bring about the major change we need,” says eBay’s head of pre-loved Lucy Peacock.

PrettyLittleThing-resale-app

Beyond the Oxfam campaign itself, the month of September has become a popular time for retailers to unveil their own plays into the secondhand economy. 

Fast-fashion retailer PrettyLittleThing launched its PLT Marketplace app at the end of August and Joules, which introduced its Joules ReWear programme earlier this year, extended its partnership with clothing platform Reskinned by launching a resale platform.

While this move coincided with Second Hand September, Ruby Fowler, corporate social responsibility manager at Joules, says it wasn’t “necessarily a conscious decision” because, although “there’s more traffic and discussion around [secondhand clothing] during September”, the reaction to Oxfam’s campaign month has been mixed.

Generally, there appears to be a lack of discussion and marketing around Second Hand September from the sector, but Accenture’s head of retail Lynda Petherick believes the impact of such associations will be beneficial in the longer term.

“Taking advantage of trends such as Second Hand September might not bear fruit in the short term, but may play a crucial role in accelerating consumers towards more sustainable behaviours”

Lynda Petherick, Accenture

“A number of retailers are partnering with charities, which, while it may not be directly profitable for the retailer, demonstrates their commitment to the sustainability cause and could even drive traffic to their websites and/or bricks-and-mortar stores where possible,” she says.

“Retailers have a responsibility to educate their customers around sustainability and the environmental impact that consumption has on the planet.

“Taking advantage of trends such as Second Hand September might not bear fruit in the short term, but may play a crucial role in accelerating consumers towards more sustainable behaviours that will ultimately have a more positive impact for everyone.”

Moving beyond September

Second Hand September is a marketing moment with the potential to drive consumers’ attention towards resale at large, but could it be that the movement has already moved beyond a dedicated month?

This year, eBay has seen two pre-loved fashion sales every second, while 80% of Gen Z say they have bought secondhand garments recently.

“In eBay’s recent global 2022 Recommerce Report, we discovered that, while financial reasons remain the primary motivator for purchase decisions, 42% of eBay buyer respondents cited environmental concerns and a hope to reduce waste as key drivers for shopping secondhand,” says Peacock.

“We hope to continue changing the conversation and show how easy it is to shop secondhand”

Lucy Peacock, eBay

“There are lots of other influences driving this change. Celebrities, for example, are starting to really drive the ‘rewear and reuse mentality’ – from Rihanna, who made her pregnancy reveal in vintage Chanel, to J-Lo who made headlines in her comeback Versace dress. 

“We hope to continue changing the conversation and show how easy it is to shop secondhand.”

Image from eBay

eBay has partnered with TV show Love Island

eBay also attributes its successes to its partnership with reality TV show Love Island, indicating that pre-loved items in cultural phenomena can have a big impact.

“While moments like Second Hand September are important in raising awareness, resale is a trend that extends beyond just the month of September,” says Petherick.

“The desire to buy pre-loved items has gathered steam over the past few years as consumers have been becoming increasingly conscious of their environmental impact, with the likes of Depop and Vinted becoming household names among consumers.

“As shoppers feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crunch, many will see the benefits of selling items in their wardrobe as a side-hustle as well as saving money by buying pre-loved items for a lower price.”

Second Hand September does have the potential to become a larger jumping-off point if more retailers get on the bandwagon, but it won’t necessarily move the dial on its own. On the positive side, it seems that customers are already doing that themselves.