FBC MOLLY MACAULAY 1 | Page 21

Primary research survey when you are finished with an item of clothing what are you most likely to do with it? throw it away give it to a charity sell it on eBay Recyle it This opinion that sustainable development of fashion is a trend is being disproved by the increase of reselling apps and websites such as EBay and Depop where clothing from the mass market is sold at a rapid rate, EBay alone sold 82 billion dollars of gross merchandise in 2015 (Smith, 2016). When using this most consumers aren’t aware they’re being sustainable, by passing their clothing on, as they’re making a profit off something that could have ended up in landfill. This gain for consumers from items they are done with is also occurring in our mass market high street stores where all we looking for is the next best deal and how much money we can get off an item, that’s why H&M and Accessorize Monsoon offer money-back vouchers to customers when they return used clothing which are then recycled. H&M’s initiative allows customers to donate a bag of clothing to receive a five-pound voucher in store, and Monsoon offer a £10 voucher for every one item returned. This new strategy is already making a difference because H&M says their company has already collected 28,000 tonnes of unwanted clothing since 2013 (Cronin, 2016). Overall it’s clear sustainability won’t only be a fad or just another passing trend if major brands continue and increase their advertisement and consumers keep recycling unwanted clothes, to help increase the cradle to cradle practice within the fashion industry. Page 18