Today marks the 51st annual Earth Day, the anniversary of the modern environmental movement. Although this is a celebratory day, fast fashion is still a large contributor to global warming and not enough is being done. But here in Birmingham there are lots of second hand clothing shops that we can buy from instead of fast fashion companies, so we can play our part in helping the environment.
Located in Digbeth, COW has a huge selection of second hand clothing, re-worked vintage pieces as well as offering custom orders. Guaranteed to always have a big variety of vintage Levi’s jeans, you’ll be helping the environment and staying stylish.
COW are celebrating Earth Day by giving all customers 15% off their website, announcing on Instagram: “To help combat prevalent issues that damage our beloved planet *cough cough (fast fashion)* we are encouraging everyone to celebrate the slow fashion movement with 15% off the entire website with the code SAVETHEPLANET – for today and today only!”
Moving to the centre of Birmingham, perhaps turn to The Oasis rather than the high street shops in the Bullring. Via the entrance on Corporation Street is their vintage store, with stock from designer sweatshirts to trainers, all priced reasonably. Venturing deeper into The Oasis you can also find piercing shops, art galleries and a cafe!
Just a short walk from the Bullring towards the rag market, you will find Credit Crunchers vintage shop. Perhaps the most affordable option of them all, where you just might find a hidden gem!
Going further afield, Kings Heath high street is home to vintage clothing shop “Top Banana”. The shop imports all their vintage goods from the USA, having a huge selection of Converse and Vans as well as a variety of Hawaiian shirts.
Shopping second hand is a step towards leaving fast fashion behind, but what else can we do?
Speaking to Olivia Pinnock, a sustainability specialist and fashion lecturer, she gave advice on how we can ignore and stop shopping from fast fashion brands. “Think about what is encouraging you to make purchases, unfollow brands on social media, block ads”.
“Immerse yourself, start to follow influencers who are focussed on sustainable fashion.”
“Sadly, maybe it does mean buying less and saving up for something that is a bit more expensive. I think that’s what we all have to do.”
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