'Secondhand Sunday' Encourages
People to Give Used Gifts
new campaign redirects holiday shoppers away
from mass consumption of new goods toward more ethical and sustainable choices.
You've heard of Black Friday, Small Business
Saturday, and Cyber Monday—all major shopping days that take place at the end
of the November. But now there's another day you can add to the list, and it's
one that gets a big thumbs up from Treehugger. The first annual Secondhand
Sunday will roll out this year. It is the brainchild of Poshmark, a social
commerce marketplace that enables users to buy and sell clothing online, mostly
used.
Secondhand Sunday, which takes place on
November 27 this year (and will always be on the Sunday following U.S.
Thanksgiving), comes at an especially good time. The organizers point to the
convergence of two key trends: first, ongoing inflation is prompting customers
to look for deals and ways to save money; and second, people are increasingly
open to receiving secondhand gifts.
Poshmark commissioned global research firm
Morning Consult to assess the secondhand market. It found that over 90% of
American adults say they would be willing to receive a secondhand or resold
gift this season, but only 34% are likely to buy them for others. This suggests
"massive opportunity to close the gap"—a task that Poshmark has
embraced with enthusiasm.
Amber McCasland, vice-president of Global Brand
and Communications, told Treehugger that consumers have become familiar with
dedicated shoppings days in the calendar.
"Our team saw an opportunity to hack
traditional holiday shopping patterns by shining a spotlight on the many
benefits of secondhand shopping and selling ... Secondhand Sunday aims to
redirect holiday shopping away from mass consumption of new goods toward
choices that support individual economic empowerment, social connection and
environmental sustainability. Secondhand Sunday encourages shoppers to think
about who they're buying from, and support secondhand sellers during the peak
holiday shopping season."
Poshmark is a platform from which individual sellers
run their own "closets" or shops, similar to Etsy, and make extra
cash. Some do it part-time, others full-time. While sellers have varying
motivations for doing business, many are driven by the belief that buying
secondhand is important for the environment.
One such seller is Ashley Wheeler from Oregon.
When she started selling on Poshmark, her husband worked as a truck driver at a
landfill site. They were both horrified at the amount of textile waste that was
getting dumped, just because it was deemed unsellable by a retailer. Even when
her husband asked to bring home items that still had value, he was told no,
because "companies had paid the landfill to dispose of their
garbage." She told Treehugger:
"For us, that was a wake up-call. We
realized it wasn't just about us bringing our pre-owned clothing back into the
market but finding other inventory that companies were ready to dispose of and
help recycle it back into use. That's when we started to learn about Goodwill
Outlets (aka the bins) and other similar stores—where we source a majority of
our inventory."
Wheeler now buys cast-off items by the pound
from Goodwill's "last chance" bins and resells them on Poshmark. She
said it's possible to find designer and high-end fashion brands, and that often
items are still in great or new condition.
When asked what she looks for, Wheeler said,
"We focus on brands and fabric materials when we are sourcing items. We
prefer natural materials like linen, silk, hemp, organic cotton, etc. We also
look at functionality: work boots, jeans, sweaters, puffer coats, windbreakers ...
Functionality typically lasts longer in someone's closet and they are more
likely to pick up over trends, from our experience."
While Poshmark has run smaller, more targeted
holiday campaigns in the past, McCasland said that Secondhand Sunday is
"our first concerted effort to change the cultural conversation around how
people shop and gift during the holidays." The hope is that, instead of
running out to buy new items as gifts, people will realize that it's acceptable
and even preferable to source used items instead. And they may discover
Poshmark for the first time—an easily accessible website and app that allows
you to search for specific styles, sizes, and brands.
Manish Chandra, company founder and CEO, said
in a press release, "We want to promote and celebrate the idea that our
sellers' virtual closets are the new must-see holiday storefronts, and invite
consumers across the nation to choose secondhand, on Secondhand Sunday and all year
long."
Whether you visit a local thrift store or go
online to Poshmark, there's a world of used clothing out there that's just
waiting to be worn. To choose that over new is a small yet meaningful act of
environmental preservation. It says no to more production, more resource
extraction, more exploitative labor practices in distant countries. It extends
the lifespan of already created garments, reduces the number of clothes being
discarded, and cuts down on the methane emitted when textiles break down in
landfill.
So, really, you can't go wrong. Secondhand
Sunday is a great idea that gets people off conventional shopping websites and
out of malls while promoting circular fashion, waste reduction, and financial
savings. Poshmark encourages people to participate and spread the word by using
the #SecondhandSunday hashtag on social media.
Sources/Links:
https://www.treehugger.com/secondhand-sunday-poshmark-6831360
https://www.secondhandsunday.poshmark.com/
https://poshmark.com/
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