The fresh scent of coffee fills the early morning air as strangers begin to lay out old and forgotten items on their driveways. Cars blindly follow signs until the final stop at their destination. A yard sale can be seen as an oasis of unknown treasures waiting to be uncovered.
For some, yard sales are a useless junkyard filled with haggling bargainers. Instead, they should be seen as a missing piece that could help the climate crisis.
The birth of yard sales was actually rumored to be in the United States, more closely, New England shipyards. It started in the 19th century as an economic endeavor when ships would unload cargo and sell it for some quick cash. This eventually spread into what it is known today.
As some may know, yard sales are a way for homeowners to clear out their old forgotten items. Usually on the weekend, strangers lay out and hang up an assortment of unwanted items that could be a great purchase for somebody else. It’s an easy way to make a few extra bucks and get rid of unwanted junk. To the buyer, it’s an easy and fun way to pick up unique and vintage items for a few dollars. The buyer also wins because they get something at a cheaper price than regular retail stores. It’s a win-win for everyone. It can also be a win for the climate.
With fast fashion on the rise in the past few years due to COVID-19 and excessive online shopping, it’s become clear that only fast fashion shopping is not a sustainable pathway for the climate crisis.
“According to an analysis by Business Insider, fashion production comprises 10% of total global carbon emissions, as much as the European Union. It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.” Maiti wrote for Earth.org.
Fast fashion has become a trendy and cheap market to purchase clothes online or in stores. Some well known fast fashion shops include H&M, Urban Outfitters, SHEIN, Zara and many more. A popular online fashion site, SHEIN, has gained popularity in the past few years. Just SHEIN alone produced 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide, heavily contributing to the climate crisis and well above the 45% target carbon emission goal set by the U.N.
“Global consumption of apparel has risen to an approximate 62 million tonnes per year and is projected to further reach 102 million tonnes by the year 2030. As a result, fast fashion brands are producing twice the amount of clothes today than in the year 2000. This dramatic increase in production has also caused an increase in both pre- and post-production textile waste.” Shukla wrote for Earth.org.
Most fast fashion shoppers are looking for cheap and trendy clothes to purchase. This waste-producing market is not sustainable and needs to be fixed in order to help our earth. Yard sales are a great alternative option to purchasing fast fashion items.
“I never thought about how much waste SHEIN produced and how much fast fashion is killing our earth,” Tina McCoy, a past fast fashion shopper said. “I’ve definitely purchased from SHEIN and Zara before but I think now I’ll try to do that less. A yard sale actually seems like a great way to try and combat this issue. I never thought about that before.”
There are many issues regarding our climate crisis; such as big oil companies, carbon emissions, deforestation etc… Fast fashion is increasing resource consumption and heavily contributing waste to junkyards around the world. It’s a major factor in our climate crisis that isn’t dissected enough in the media.
Alternative options, such as yard sales, can help stop this fast-fashion pandemic, reduce water and carbon waste. We should all consider switching to this more sustainable way of shopping to help our planet.
