British actor Richard E Grant is well-known for striking gold with a secondhand Burberry trench coat from a charity shop, which eventually led him to his big break in the film industry. Now, he’s using his fame to encourage others to embrace secondhand clothing through Oxfam’s Second Hand September campaign.
The Second Hand September campaign aims to inspire people to buy pre-loved clothes, donate clothes they no longer wear, and extend the lifecycle of their wardrobe. Grant credits his early acting career breakthrough to a secondhand coat he purchased from an Oxfam shop. He recalls arriving at his ‘Withnail & I’ audition in 1986, wet and wearing the secondhand Burberry trench coat, which coincidentally was exactly what the role required.
According to the latest State of Style report by Oxfam, the campaign finds support as 57% of adults in the UK tried to buy fewer clothes in the past year. Based on a survey conducted in July on 3,037 UK adults, the charity found that Britain’s relationship with clothing is slowly shifting towards sustainability. However, much work is still required as about a third of an average UK wardrobe was unused in the previous year and four in 10 people admitted to wearing a piece of clothing only once.
Unfortunately, one in five people still discard unwanted clothes instead of donating, repairing, or reselling them. The environmental impact of these discarded clothes is immense. Oxfam points out that the water used in the production of unworn clothes in British wardrobes could provide a lifetime supply of drinking water for a million people.
Launched in 2019, the Second Hand September initiative has helped secondhand fashion become more mainstream. This move to sustainability was further facilitated by the rise of resale platforms, vintage retailers, and Oxfam’s over 500 shops around the UK and their online store.
Grant, an advocate of secondhand fashion, believes that true style doesn’t lie in buying new but in discovering pieces with a story. He encourages everyone to find, keep, and pass on secondhand clothing items for others to discover. For him, reusing and upcycling clothing, be they secondhand or vintage, is not only fashionable but also sensible in a world that already has too much of everything.
