Sustainable Fashion Around the World

Thrifting in London, UK - Bronwyn 

In the UK, we have lots of charity shops which sell donated clothes and donate all the money to charity. There are numerous causes, such as Cancer Research, Homelessness, Mental Health, etc.

I personally love shopping in charity shops. You not only are able to get some items for a fraction of their original price, but you are also supporting great causes.

There are also lots of markets in London selling second-hand clothing. I recently went to a kilo sale, which was £10 ($18) a kg.

Best Find

I found these two gorgeous Jane Norman tops in my local Charity shop. I bought them for £7 each ($13). Their resale value is between $50 - $100 (but I'm never doing that!!)

My Favourite Thrift Stores / Charity Shops in London 

• Traid Hammersmith

• Oxfam Ealing 

• Alice’s Attic

• Rokit Shoreditch 

Great spots of London for Thrifting 

• Fulham/ Hammersmith 

• West Ealing 

• Brick Lane 

• Spitalfields Market 

• Notting Hill 

• Camden 

• Chelsea 

Thrifting in Canada - Sydney

In Canada, thrifting is quite popular. I would say it truly became “trendy” after the pandemic. It's really common for students my age to use thrifting as a way to bond with friends and also increase their sustainability in the world. After doing my exchange in Europe, I would say thrifting in Canada is much more common and accessible, as we have many different types of thrift and second-hand stores. Still, we also use various apps and social media to help find thrifted items.

I think Value Village is the most well-known thrift store here as it not only has clothing, but also appliances, toys, jewellery and more. But i

I would argue that Facebook Marketplace and Poshmark are also very common online ways of thrifting. Both of these apps allow you to use your precise location, helping you find exactly what you're looking for, rather than just browsing through stores.

My Favourite Thrift Stores in Canada:

• Value Village

• Reids Thrifting

• Salvation Army

• Facebook Marketplace

Thrifting in Hong Kong - Dora

In Hong Kong, the Y2K trend is blending with sustainable fashion! One of my favourites is Rubbish_b 堆填區 which translates to landfill, with the brand idea that fashion pieces that can be "rubbish" in the eyes of some are treasures in the eyes of others. Check out this vintage necklace piece that they sell!

Rubbish_b is located in Mong Kok near 蓮香樓 which is a famous tourist spot, so when you visit Hong Kong it is convenient to visit!

Other thrift stores include

• Redress Closet

  - The revenue from second-hand clothing sold is donated to REDRESS, a Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO that focuses on educating and empowering designers and consumers to reduce the negative impacts of clothing.

  - Located in Sham Shui Po, a popular spot for cheap shopping and food, with street stalls and shopping malls such as Dragon Center.

• Little Dot Vintage Shop (photo below)

  - Listed in the Hong Kong Tourism Board, this thrift shop mainly sells products from the 1950s and 1980s.

  - Located in Tsim Sha Tsui, yet another famous shopping district

  

• Midwest Vintage Store 美華氏

  - With various stores across in Hong Kong, in Mong Kok, Tin Hau and Sha Tin, this shop sells American style vintage

  - Offers a section of re-tailored or upcycled clothing, made from second-hand garments and designed in house

It is also popular to resell your clothing on a platform called Carousell, where users meet up in person to exchange goods (be it clothes, musical instruments or concert tickets), creating a convenient alternative for those who want to sell their clothes or want to buy second-hand clothing.

Check out our social media to see our success thrifting in the UK vs Canada !!

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