Use and reuse; secondhand shopping picking up among youngsters: Preloved is the new love!

With people turning more eco-conscious, younger shoppers are driving a surge in sales of second-hand clothing, home décor furnishings, spurred by the desire to help the environment and find alternative home-looks to latest fashion as well.

Gone are the days when people threw things which they did not use anymore. Now they are selling or swapping it through social media sites. Ishita Yashvi, a home décor lover hosts sale of pre-loved things on her Instagram account. She started this last year and sold almost everything in an hour. Isn’t this cool? “I hadn’t expected this response from my social media page. I put a sale of my cloths during lockdown when my house help needed funds to make her house in her hometown. This turned out to be a big hit and that’s how this idea came in my mind to why not pass those things on to others which we don’t use anymore’’.

She keeps hosting such events on regular basis of her cloths, home décor items and loves to pass her preloved things to others who need it more. “I always wanted to buy a pair of Nike shoes but they are so expensive that I couldn't buy them. One day I saw a post on Instagam that someone is selling the shoes in half of the price and luckily I got them in a very good condition” Shared Ankita Sharma, a teacher by profession.

Social media has played an important role in this and people don’t need a particular website to sell and purchase pre owned items. People are selling their goods through their personal or business Instagram accounts which are easily accessible to the followers.

“In this world of fast fashion, it’s a good idea not to spend money on new things but to go for a sustainable and zero waste options. I shop carefully for the things which I need the most’’ said Kanika Rajput, who leads an organic lifestyle.

Famous influencers and celebrities are also buying pre-loved stuff from social media sites and promoting them. Mansi Tanwal, founder of lookbook 90’s on Instagram shared, "I was so happy when I received an order from Meera Kapoor (Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor’s wife) and Komal Pandey (a famous fashion influencer). It really is encouraging when someone you admire comes to buy your handpicked pre loved stuff”.

Initially, people used to buy electronics, vehicles and gadgets through various websites but now the trend has changed. Right from high end branded labels, to old products and day-today items, everything is available on social media sites. Sufi, a shopaholic and a vintage collector who has been selling and buying pre loved things for the last one decade has now come online to reach the bigger audience. “I have a WhatsApp community group where I sell and buy products. It’s easy to operate and people visit us too in case they want to look for a product."

Not only common people but celebrities are also liking and promoting this concept. “Everything we buy, waste and throw has an impact on the environment and it ends up in the oceans, rivers, landfills and even impacts the food chain. That is why I have consistently spoken against fast fashion” Shared Dia Mirza, an Actor who has been working passionately for the environment.

“I am happy that young people across the world are now choosing to be sustainable. The bottomless desire to own things is the root of all problems especially because we throw so much stuff away when we are bored, without giving a thought to where it will all end up” She shared.