By Églantine Verhille

We know that the philosophy of Bon Magasinage is widely shared by our community and we are so grateful to you for helping reduce the impact of the textile industry on the environment by choosing the second hand.

We thought that a little more information about this industry will convince you to limit buying new, or to self congratulate yourself on all your second hand purchases. Indeed, the fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater and 10% of global carbon emissions.

A piece of clothing often travels for miles before ending up on the hanger of your favorite store. For example, jeans can travel around the earth up to 1.5 times (65,000 km) and will require 2,000 liters of water to be made. Also, the dye used in the design of textiles is considered to be the second most water pollutant in the world.

And unfortunately, the pollution does not stop with the purchase of a new garment since the maintenance of our clothes, and in particular, synthetic fibers, is responsible for the release of plastic microparticles, resulting in 500,000 tonnes of plastic per year, released into the oceans, which would represent 50 billion plastic bottles.

So, knowing that less than 1% of our textiles are recycled, makes us want to scream even louder, the imperative and rescuing mission that drives us: making second-hand, the first fashion. Recycle clothes that are too used to be resold on Bon Magasinage, do a little sewing to mend your favorite clothes instead of throwing them away, avoid compulsive and mass purchases and go second hand whenever possible.

To you who’s reading this, thank you for encouraging and promoting second hand by supporting Bon Magasinage.

And if you want to understand more deeply the impact of your wardrobe on our precious planet, take this quiz.