6 February, 2026

We like to think that buying second-hand is better for the planet, that it keeps clothes in circulation and means we’re not feeding the fast fashion machine. And yes, in theory, that’s true. But if we’re scrolling Vinted at midnight the same way we used to scroll Zara, feeling that familiar rush when a parcel arrives and buying things we don’t need just because they’re cheap and pre-loved, it’s worth asking whether we’re really changing anything at all. 

British Vogue’s Emily Chan asked herself this recently after buying three second-hand items in a row during a rough week, and she started wondering if she’d just swapped one shopping habit for another. A quick poll in the Vogue office showed she wasn’t alone. Her colleagues were surprised by their own numbers – 22 pieces here, 30 there – all excused by the familiar logic that it doesn’t really count if it’s pre-loved. But in the end, an impulse buy is still an impulse buy. 

Here’s the uncomfortable bit: a recent study published in Nature found that people who shop second-hand actually tend to buy more overall, not less. They buy more new clothes too, have a faster wardrobe turnover and make more donations. Unfortunately, since most donated clothes never get resold (in the UK, only 10 to 30% make it back onto the rails) and a lot of those “sustainable” purchases end up in landfills overseas, in places like Ghana, Chile, India and Pakistan. It turns out second-hand shoppers might be creating more textile waste, not less. 

That’s hard to hear when you genuinely think you’re doing the right thing, but it points to something bigger: we can’t shop our way out of a problem caused by shopping too much, no matter how good it feels. The real shift isn’t about where we buy, it’s about how we buy, and whether we can break the cycle of wanting more. 

So, what do we do with this? Shopping second-hand can make a difference, but only if it genuinely replaces something new, if it’s intentional, if it’s a piece we’ve been thinking about for months rather than something we grabbed because it was £4. Before we hit checkout, it’s worth asking ourselves whether we’ll still want this in a year, whether we’ll wear it again and again, or whether we’re just scratching an itch that will inevitably come back tomorrow. 

It is right to think that what we buy matters but changing how much we buy matters more. 

By Justine Bahoumina