China’s fast-fashion antidote: second-hand stores and clothing swaps to lessen ecological impact

China’s popular retail quarters, such as Nanjing Road in Shanghai or Taikooli in Beijing, are lined with international fashion outlets, but away from these glossy facades, industry insiders and others are increasingly focused on a more sustainable, eco-friendly attitude to fashion.

China’s adult garment market was worth 1,144.4 billion yuan (US$184 billion) in 2016 and is expected to reach more than 1,300 billion yuan by 2019. Unlike in the socially restrictive 1970s and ’80s, Chinese consumers now can select from a multitude of brands, but that luxury of choice comes at a steep environmental price.

Some estimates suggest that up to 50 per cent of the world’s clothing is manufactured in China, with serious environmental impacts such as from waste water. While many believe the large manufacturers should do more, a growing number of people in China are attempting to reduce the impact of consumption by buying less or reusing what they already have.

The future of Chinese fashion according to Xiaoqing Zhang, the model-turned-designer behind Shanghai label X.Q.Zhang

Clothing swaps are gaining in popularity and visibility in major cities, some organised between friends and others hosted by charitable organisations, and shared through social media. Live With Less, a Beijing-based project co-created by architecture studio Crossboundaries and mindfulness organisation The Mind Body Project, holds quarterly swap meets aimed at reducing excessive consumption. Although any items are accepted at the swaps, from toys to home appliances, coordinator Natalie Bennett says they mostly receive clothing.

While Live With Less has a growing community of regulars, many of whom are Chinese, Bennett says some are still wary of second-hand clothing. Traditionally, second-hand items were considered inferior or even unlucky in China.

Bennett is encouraging people to see the potential “thrill” of coming across a great second-hand item or the possibility of finding unique clothing. She says garments and other items don’t have to be new or nearly new.

“Just because an item is heavily worn, doesn’t mean that you have to throw it away. Someone could use it for garden work or DIY, for example,” she says. Live With Less hopes to spread the word to other Chinese cities, Bennett says.