Year 2 Diploma in Mass Communication

Module: Feature Writing

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In the face of global warming, KARIN CHEW explores alternatives to throwing away unwanted clothes, to reduce clothing waste in Singapore

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Sea levels, weather patterns, greenhouse gas emission levels – it’s all changing. It’s global warming, and it comes to no surprise that human influence has been found almost 100% to be the dominant cause.

 

One may think we should save water, plastic, electricity, but what about our clothes?

 

“When we say fashion, what we’re thinking is always the runways, the celebrities that we see on red carpets, or the brands we follow on Instagram – it’s all the beautiful things,” said Mr Raye Padit, 29, co-founder of Connect Threads Asia, a Singapore-based organisation advocating sustainable fashion. “But what is not told is the behind the scenes – how clothes are made, what resources we need to produce a specific item.”

 

The fashion industry is in fact the second most polluting industry in the world. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA) in 2017, 150 800 tonnes of textile waste were generated last year in Singapore alone.

 

To counter that, people have been turning to sustainable fashion options as they get increasingly conscious of being socially and environmentally responsible. A 2018 YouGov research found that 56% of Singaporeans want sustainable brands, compared to 49% in 2014.

 

Love Buying Preloved

 

“Preloved clothes” is a term used to describe second-hand clothing, and recently there have been more Singaporeans jumping on the bandwagon. With the rise of trendy second-hand fashion boutiques like Refash, many Singaporeans have been dabbling in sustainable fashion, whether they realise it or not.

 

With Refash, one can easily post their clothes on their website to sell them to someone else who would get more use out of them. Similarly, one can buy these clothes put on sale by others either through Refash’s website or in their four physical outlets. With the modern interiors of their stores which make them look like any other trendy boutique, many walk in unaware that the clothes on the sleek racks are preloved. Some don’t even realise it until they make their purchase at the cashier. Jane Pan, 28, a Refash customer, is one of them.

 

“I only knew [it was a second-hand clothing store] when I made the payment,” she said, laughing sheepishly. “But the prices were low, and the clothes were good as new, so I didn’t mind either way.”

 

While Refash may appear more trendy and appealing, there are of course many other alternatives from which one can get their preloved fashion fix. They include thrift stores, vintage stores, and even re-commerce apps like Carousell.