Blog post by @cornersofmy
I have shopped second-hand my whole life. The path of my earlier years meant that this wasn't a choice but a necessary measure made by my mother to enable me to have the things that i needed.
As an adult, with my own family, i am at a place in which I do have a choice. I now push hard to remove the negative stigma attached to Secondhand shopping (specifically to people who are lower class, or who sit in a minority group).
There is a multitude of campaigns that aim to promote shopping preloved first, but one of the biggest and most followed is 'Secondhand September'. It was created in 2019, by Oxfam with the aim to promote donating, reusing, and re-wearing your clothes. Since 2019 it has sprouted off into a general idea of shopping preloved (not caped by clothes).
Over September, you will find accounts sharing their #secondhandseptember finds. Campaigns like this are of course important. Removing stigma and promoting sustainable practices, but at first glance; when clicked on, i did not see myself or my family represented in the hashtag.
As someone who has shopped second-hand because of both poverty/necessity and also on the other hand because of choice/the joy it brings me. I felt that I didn't align with the Instagram version of 'shopping second-hand' or 'shopping sustainably'.
I decided over the month of September to share how second-hand shopping interlinks with our everyday life as a family; Sharing images and moments that normalise preloved. By using the hashtag, I hope to reach people who feel like me -
A bit left out from a movement that we already heavily contribute to.
