With second-hand purchases, you give products a second lease of life and help to save resources. And in addition to protecting the environment, you also go easy on your wallet.

Savings potential

When you buy a product second-hand, you share its CO₂ emissions with the previous owner, reducing your emissions by 50 percent compared to a new product.

Background

8 percent of global emissions originate in the clothing industry, four times as much as produced by the aviation industry.

Reason enough to use these products for as long as possible. Because every new product has to be manufactured, stored and transported. These steps require energy, and they generate a lot of emissions in the process.

Buying things second-hand extends the life of products that are already available and means that fewer new items need to be produced.

Here’s how it works

• Find your shop: used = musty? Long a thing of the past. You can now find high-quality online exchanges and second-hand shops. Find a place you trust.
• Take baby steps: start simple – with an accessory maybe? Find out what’s right for you and keep on going from there.
• Find your inspiration: browse around a little and see if you find anything cool. You might be inspired. But beware: bargain hunters run the risk of addiction.

During their growth spurts, children grow out of their clothes so quickly that it’s hardly worth buying new ones, so that second-hand clothing is a much better option.

Savings potential

The production of 3 kilograms of new clothing releases up to 90 kilograms of CO₂. So by buying more second-hand clothes for your little ones, you reduce lots of CO₂. Nice side effect: because new clothes are generally much more expensive than second-hand clothes, you’ll also save a good deal of money. The environment will thank you for it.

Here’s how it works

• Buy clothes in second-hand shops or at flea markets.
• Ask friends and relatives with children if they have children’s clothes they no longer need.
• Remember that you can also pass on your own children’s clothes once they’ve grown out of them.

Did you know that the eco-labels on clothes have a disproportionately large impact on their carbon footprint? Being mindful of eco-quality is an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Savings potential

The German research and consultancy organization Oeko-Institut in Freiburg has calculated that the production of a T-shirt made from organic cotton releases only 1 kilogramme of CO₂, compared to 4 to 7 kilogrammes for a T-shirt made from conventionally grown cotton.

Choose things you really like and wear them for a long time – or swap them with friends. By extending the life of your clothes by even one to two years, you’re already making a significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions.

Savings potential

According to climate protection consultancy Carbon Trust, you can reduce your carbon footprint for clothing by around 24 percent by extending the life of your clothes by one to two years. If you also use platforms for sharing clothes, you will use 49 percent fewer resources than the average shopper, according to the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW).

Background

The production of clothing swallows up large amounts of energy, water, chemicals and oil. For example, the energy for textile factories comes mainly from coal. To produce one T-shirt, it takes 2,500 litres of water. And more than 60 percent of our clothing is made from artificial materials like polyester. When we resist the temptation to buy short-lived clothes, we make an important contribution to reducing our environmental impact. Because every year, the production of clothing emits around 1.7 billion tonnes of CO₂, well over the 0.9 billion tonnes released by global aviation as a whole. And the number is growing.

Here’s how it works

• Share, swap or recycle your clothes.
• If you haven’t done it for a while, now is a great time to clear out your wardrobe again. Many of the items you no longer want or need will often still be in perfect condition and deserve a second chance. You can give them away, for example at clothes swapping events.

Fashion trends change extremely quickly these days. Drop into the big fashion boutiques to get an idea for yourself. But fast fashion harms the environment.

Savings potential

The textile industry is responsible for 5 percent of global CO₂ emissions. A simple white T-shirt made of cotton (220 grams) with a life of around 55 washes causes around 11 kilograms of CO₂ emissions – i.e. around 50 times its own weight. 2,000 to 3,000 litres of water are needed for a T-shirt, and no less than 8,000 litres for a pair of jeans.

So every item of clothing that is bought or produced less often saves a lot of resources.

Background

Every year, the textile industry blows 1.2 billion tonnes of CO₂ into the air. This means that more than 5 percent of global emissions are consumed for new clothes alone, a figure not even reached by shipping and aviation together. This is because first, the energy for textile factories is obtained mainly from coal, and second because their production is enormously resource-intensive. To harvest a cotton crop, for example, loads of water and pesticides are needed.

Here’s how it works

• Be staunch in resisting tempting discount offers.
• Buy things only when you have a specific need.
• Choose high-quality products you will value as a favourite.

Fact snack

Swiss people are mad about shopping, buying more than 60 items per person per year. The average bundle of old clothes weighs in at 15 kilograms per year – often textiles that are as good as new. Virtually no other country in the world can match up to these figures.

Sources: The link will open in a new window polarstern-energie.de / The link will open in a new window sustainyourstyle.org

Buying second-hand gives products a second lease of life and saves massive amounts of resources. As a bonus: in addition to protecting the environment, you also go easy on your wallet. Win-win!

Savings potential

When you buy a product second-hand, you share its emissions with the previous owner, reducing your emissions by 50 percent compared to a new product.

Background

The purchase of new furniture and appliances accounts for a significant share of our personal carbon footprint. Because every new product first has to be manufactured, stored and transported. These steps require energy, and they generate a lot of emissions in the process.

Reason enough to use these products for as long as possible. Buying things second-hand extends the life of products that are already available and postpones the manufacture of new products.

Here’s how it works

• Question things: ask yourself in general why it is you need something and why it has to be new. Nowadays, you can easily find products that are as good as new (with a guarantee) or genuine collector’s items with character.
• Find your shop: used = musty? Long a thing of the past. You can now find high-quality online exchanges and second-hand shops. Find a place you trust.
• Upgrade: does it have to be low-priced? With second-hand, you can get better quality at the same price.
• Resell: do you have something you no longer need but that is still in good condition? Sell it and give it a second lease of life.

Did you know that a drill is only actually used for an average of 11 minutes over its lifespan? It’s time to make better use of goods that are already in circulation. So lend more and share your belongings with others.

Background

Shared use of items of all kinds, such as textiles, machines, rooms, facilities or vehicles, is becoming increasingly popular – and is precisely what the so-called sharing economy is based on. Having fewer possessions also feels incredibly liberating.

Here’s how it works

• Ask around: are you in need of a product that isn’t an everyday item? Then simply ask your friends, relatives or neighbours. Might they not already have it?
• Offer people your belongings: actively tell your friends and relatives what they can borrow from you when they need it.
• Use online platforms: make use of online sharing platforms, where you can borrow or lend things yourself.

A plastic bag is used for an average of 25 minutes, after which it goes in the bin. If it’s not already firmly established in your shopping routine, always try to remember to bring your own cloth bag – the perfect way to put away your shopping and save on lots of plastic at the same time.

Savings potential

You can save up to 5 kilograms of CO₂ per year by being mindful of plastic bags and food packaging when you go shopping. The dramatic fact is that a vast amount of plastic ends up in the sea or some other natural environment every year – a problem we absolutely must get to grips with.

Background

It is estimated that over one trillion plastic bags are produced worldwide every year. The main raw material for their production is oil. After the short time for which they are used, even wafer-thin plastic bags remain in the environment for up to 400 years and break down into their individual components, some highly toxic. A great deal of energy and CO₂ emissions go into both the production and disposal of plastic bags.

Here’s how it works

• Try to buy only products where the packaging is not overly lavish.
• Don’t take more plastic bags home from shopping than necessary: fruit and vegetables, for example, don’t need to go into a separate plastic bag.
• Take a bag from home with you that you can reuse every time.
• Only accept other bags if you really need them.
• You can reuse some packaging as bags for other things.

Recommendation

For anyone looking to go one step further, there are more and more shops that offer their goods entirely without packaging.

Pro’s tip

While it might be ageing a little, the film Plastic Planet is still recommended for anyone who wants to take a closer look at the problem.

Source: The link will open in a new window smarticular.net