Today I went to a second-hand store. I visited this shop earlier but today I noticed the popularity and growth of it. However, several sources state that in the last two years more and more thrift shops are going bankrupt. They blame it on economic growth after the crisis. In my personal social environment, second hand goods but especially clothes are still a little controversial. People think only dirty clothing which is worn and torn, is sold there and the stuff has to be brought away with a reason, right? This attitude has to change.
This brings me to the statement I want to make. In my eyes consumer society leads to spilling. The consumer society nowadays makes it very easy to get stuff for little money. Everywhere are shops and these have long hours of operation. Do you prefer shopping at home? No problem, everything can be purchased on the internet and delivered at home. Is it not too easy to gather goods? Do a little extra effort and you will appreciate the things you spend your money on more.
The Cambridge (2015) dictionary defines consumer society as: “a society in which people often buy new goods, especially goods that they do not need, and in which a high value is placed on owning many things.” I think this definition is not true for second hand goods. When something is not new, so no extra energy is put in, it is not a sin buy things you do not really need. For people who like to collect (like me), second-hand stores are a salvation. Buy a leather jacket and do not feel guilty! The animal was already killed and if you would not have bought it, it was thrown away! Buy an ugly timber table and transform it into something else. You do not have to cut down a tree for it. Another motivation could be the usually low prices in those shops. One does not need sustainable motivations to want second-hand shops to be widespread used through society.
My suggestion to encourage people to see value of materials is: randomly pick a date, preferably close to the big spring clean. On this day people will go through their clothes and goods and consider whether or not they want to keep it. Stuff what can be missed can be send to the thrift shop, where new owners will extend the product life. Maybe people will get rid of stuff they do not like anymore and appreciate the things they have even more. Appreciation of stuff is in my opinion the key to beat the spilling of the current consumer society.
Cambridge. (2015). Cambridge dictionaries online. Retrieved 22 November, 2015, from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/consumer-society