Second Hand September - Why Sheffield Is Stepping Into the Fashion Future
This September, Sheffield has the chance to make its mark not just as a city of makers, but as a city of remakers. Second Hand September has grown from a niche charity initiative created by Oxfam - into a global cultural reset, but in 2025 its urgency feels sharper than ever. Across the UK, we discard an estimated 300,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill every year, much of it worn only a handful of times before being dumped. Globally, the figure spirals into 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually, with less than one percent recycled into new clothing. That’s not just waste, it’s water squandered, carbon emitted, and plastic microfibres washed into our rivers and seas. And the problem is closer to home than we like to admit. This summer, an investigation revealed that UK branded clothing waste is being dumped in protected wetlands in Ghana, an uncomfortable reminder that what leaves our wardrobes doesn’t simply vanish, it becomes someone else’s burden.
In Sheffield, where the average household sends 30 kilograms of textiles to the bin every year, the problem feels painfully real. A city with a proud textile and manufacturing heritage has found itself, like much of the country, woven into a system of overproduction and underuse. Yet Sheffield has always been a place that thrives on reinvention. Just as its steelworks gave way to world-class music and arts, its fashion scene is being reshaped by a growing movement that favours sustainability over disposability. From zero-waste shops like The Bare Alternative and Unwrapped, to local clothing swaps and grassroots upcycling projects, Sheffielders are increasingly rejecting fast fashion’s churn and choosing something with more meaning.
Culture is catching up, too. On TikTok, second-hand fashion has never looked so stylish. Gen Z creators are 'thrift-flipping' charity shop finds into high-fashion looks, using hashtags like #SecondHandSeptember to rack up millions of views. Instead of the relentless cycle of hauls, fast edits and micro-trends, a new digital culture is championing creativity, individuality and sustainability. The numbers prove this isn’t just a trend for likes, research shows that buying second-hand reduces fashion’s climate impact by 42% per wear, cuts water scarcity footprints by more than half, and halves the energy demand of each garment’s lifecycle. Second hand isn’t second best - it’s fashion’s future.
At Clothes the Loop, we’re proud to make that future visible in Sheffield. Our shop is more than a space to buy preloved designer pieces, it’s a place to rethink what style means in an age of climate crisis. Every garment we resell is a small act of resistance against waste and a celebration of circular fashion. Second Hand September is our moment to highlight that choice and make it irresistible. Throughout the month we’ll be celebrating our curated standout preloved pieces, sharing Sheffielders’ second-hand stories, and putting sustainability centre stage on social media, where the conversation is shaping the industry in real time.
Second Hand September is about more than skipping the high street for a month. It’s about showing that style, sustainability, and community belong together. If every person in Sheffield bought one second hand item this September instead of new, the carbon savings would be enormous. But even more importantly, it would show that Sheffield is not only part of the national conversation it’s leading it.
In 2025, fashion isn’t just about what you wear. It’s about what you stand for. And this Second Hand September, Sheffield is standing for something powerful, that sustainable fashion Sheffield can be beautiful, affordable, and future-focused. At Clothes the Loop, we’re here to prove that fashion’s most exciting chapter isn’t fast, disposable, or new, it’s second hand.