A cashmere jumper, spider brooch, trendy trainers: secondhand presents can still be special – you just have to know where to find them
Just as we are getting to grips with trying to live less wastefully (carrying reusable cups, eating less meat, flying less and buying less) along comes Christmas. The festive season is a frenzy of spending: in 2018, according to a survey by Deloitte, we spent an average of £299 per person on gifts in the UK, many cast aside on Boxing Day.
There are signs that shopping habits are changing. This year, more than 60,000 people pledged to take part in #SecondHandSeptember, a campaign promoted by Oxfam, which estimates that more than two tonnes of clothing are bought in the UK every minute, generating the carbon emissions equivalent to driving a car round the world six times. Extinction Rebellion’s Boycott Fashion group has more than 18,000 followers. Hashtags such as #buynothingnew, #lovedclotheslast and #secondhandfirst are sources of inspiration. This year, the message isn’t shop till you drop: it’s slow down before it’s too late. Some people, including the actor Emma Thompson, plan to eschew presents altogether. I’m not going that far, but without wishing to be Scrooge-like, I have taken on the challenge of buying nothing new for Christmas. We need to do our bit to stem the flow of plastic toys, cheap party clothes and throwaway electronic gizmos. All it takes is a bit of imagination and some forward planning.
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