This September, make second hand your first choice
For many of us, September always feels a little like a fresh start. We get back into our routines, set ourselves new goals…
Summer comes to an end and, with the change of season, we also start looking at our wardrobes a little differently.
But before thinking about what to add next, September gives us a good excuse to look first at everything that already exists.
So with this post, we want to encourage you to make second hand your first choice this September.
What is Second Hand September?
Second Hand September is an initiative that encourages us to choose second hand throughout the month, wear again what we already own and give another chance to those pieces we no longer use.
It’s not about enjoying fashion any less, but about having a slightly different relationship with it: shopping a little more consciously, keeping clothes in use for longer and remembering that something doesn’t have to be new to be new to you.
Where did it come from?
Second Hand September started in the UK in 2019 as an Oxfam initiative, although their relationship with second hand goes back much further.
Their first permanent shop opened in Oxford in 1947, with a very simple idea behind it: something one person no longer needs can still have plenty of value for someone else.
More than 70 years later, Second Hand September brought that same idea into a completely different fashion landscape. What started as a 30-day challenge has become an annual moment to put second hand in the spotlight and, even if just for a while, rethink the way we consume fashion.
Why does it matter?
We love fashion, but producing new clothes requires a lot of our planet’s resources.
From growing fibres and making fabrics to dyeing, finishing and transporting them, behind every piece of clothing there is water, energy and raw materials that we don’t always see.
In Europe alone, producing the clothing, footwear and household textiles we consumed in 2022 required around 5.3 billion cubic metres of water.
And meanwhile, there are already so many good clothes out there.
It’s something we see first-hand every day at Bobbin. Beautiful pieces come through our door that have barely been worn or that, for whatever reason, simply don’t work for the person who bought them anymore. The quality is still there, the piece is still perfectly good. It just needs someone to find it again.
That’s why second hand makes so much sense to us: making better use of everything that already exists, and of all the resources that have already gone into creating it.
How can you take part?
You don’t need to turn your whole wardrobe upside down.
Start with what you already have. Bring back something you haven’t worn in a while, repair a piece you love, swap clothes with a friend or let go of something that no longer feels like you so it can continue its journey somewhere else.
And when you do want to add something different to your wardrobe, try to find something that already exists first.
You never quite know what you’re going to find — and for us, that’s part of the fun.
Give your clothes another round
At Bobbin, we’re lucky enough to see this circle happening every day: someone is ready to let go of a piece and, a little while later, someone else walks through the door and finds exactly what they were looking for.
If your wardrobe also has some good pieces waiting for their next round, we’d love to help you put them back into circulation.
You can find everything about how it works, what we’re looking for and how to send us your selection here:
And in the end, that’s really what Second Hand September is about: wearing what you already have, letting go of what you no longer use and, when you want something different, looking first at everything that already exists.
This September, make second hand your first choice.