2Hand offers high-quality second-hand fashion and helps to sell unwanted clothes, too

While it may take 3,000 litres of water to produce a single cotton T-shirt, thinking about the toll levied by the fashion industry on the environment, it’s easier to imagine the mountains of discarded clothing than the resources that go into making garments.

In Hong Kong, 300 tonnes of textile waste heads to landfills each day, while four in 10 Hongkongers admit to having thrown clothes away after just one wear, according to non-governmental organisation Redress. Mainstream retailers such as H&M and Zara offer donation bins that funnel unwanted clothes to charities, while some smaller companies are assigning new value to second-hand items.

Launched in February last year, 2Hand is a clothing consignment service designed to promote sustainable shopping in a city where the trend for vintage clothing has not yet taken hold. The company will pick up unwanted high-quality garments and take a cut of the sales price, while buyers can browse through hundreds of items online or at 2Hand’s shop in Kwun Tong.

The stock is focused on luxury items: currently listed are a Chanel handbag for less than half of its original price, a brand new Louis Vuitton blazer and a pair of limited edition men’s Supreme x Nike trainers.

“It’s a win-win-win situation,” says co-founder Connie Yong Kit-ying. “We help the consignor offload their clothes and get money in return, buyers can shop well for less, and it helps the environment.”