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Have you ever bought something online and then returned it?
Chances are your returns weren’t resold to someone else.
We found this out on our last visit to San Francisco, when a pillow that a friend ordered wasn’t quite right. In America, everything can be returned. When he contacted the company for the return details, he was given a prepaid address to send it to….and it went directly to Goodwill. The company didn’t even pretend to go through the motions of taking it back and assessing its condition and suitability for resale (it hadn’t even been used).
Apparently, this practice is commonplace, particularly with clothing. This news article is worth reading before you make your next online clothing purchase. I’m not sure how often this occurs in Australia, but in parts of the world, it’s just much easier and more economically viable for companies to dispose of items (and maybe claim the loss on insurance) than it is for them to pay a real person to decide whether or not it’s fit to be sold again as new.
So what can we do?
Well, we can buy vintage and secondhand. So often the items found at thrift stores and opshops have never been worn before. The dress I wore to Big Boy and Monkey Girl’s wedding is a good example – it still had a tag on it, even though I bought it at the Salvos and it cost me less than a tenth of its original retail price.
Pete has become the king of vintage in the past couple of years, to the point where nearly everything in his wardrobe (even shoes) is decades old. Our friend Arnold at Potts Point Vintage has had a big influence..
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We can buy less. One thing that two months of lockdown has taught me is that I really don’t need new clothes for years to come. In a pinch, I could survive in rescued jeans and ponchos. Believe it or not, I found another poncho photo – this was actually my first one as an adult, crocheted for me by Maude. I wore it to death!
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We can hire outfits for special occasions. I haven’t done this yet (too many clothes, not enough special occasions), but my friends Caitlin and Bee are renting pieces for their upcoming wedding. They’ve raved about a company they’ve found in nearby Marrickville specialising in vintage outfits for hire. Men have been hiring suits forever, and maybe it’s time women joined in as well…
Photo credit: https://bell-street.com/
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And of course, we can mend.
Mend, mend, mend, and then mend some more.
It’s such a joyous process and for the comfort-driven like me, it means wearing ever softer clothing. YouTube is full of how-to videos, and I have a very basic tutorial here on darning which might be helpful.
I know that my personal fashion mantra – style is always optional – isn’t for everyone. But we can fix things that never get seen by others – tracksuit pants and pyjamas and socks that hide inside boots. I’ve even patched old underwear, much to Pete’s despair. I thought about it for two seconds, but decided that you don’t need to see a photo. Here’s one of my darling Small Man in his sashiko patched jeans instead…
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Finally, on the occasions when we do have to purchase something new online, let’s do it with a lot more thought. Choose carefully, because anything we return (not to mention the packaging it comes in) might end up in landfill. I’ll try to think twice before clicking the “buy” button from now on! ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Good information as always….had no idea re the customer to Goodwill route!
Bell street bridal is owned by my husbands cousin she is the best wedding dress designer and her range of vintage one offs is amazing. Really worth a look for that something different.
Hi Sheena!
My partner and I love Ali and co!
I’ve seen her bridal work and it is absolutely gorgeous and wonderfully unique to each bride.
✨
While commissioning was not right for my darling and me, we are delighted to be supporting Bell Street hire for our upcoming wedding, as Celia mentioned (along with wearing bought vintage pieces from Arnold at Potts Point Vintage). It’s perfect for vintage-lovers who have a fun/formal occasion coming up but don’t want to imprison a vintage piece forever in their own wardrobe.
And I love that Ali gives every garment its own name. 😊
What a star.
Caitlin
Thanks for that article, it’s important for us all to just buy less “stuff”. We retired 10 years ago and moved from Canberra to NSW south coast. Perfect time to do a major clean out of my wardrobe which included 15 blazers, six were black. I was a public servant and blazers were so easy to wear. I reduced the blazers to 5. Overall I reduced my wardrobe from 3 cupboards to 2 and now it’s down to 1. I rarely buy clothes now, jeans last forever and track pants are so comfy at home. I still have a few posh bits like a lurex, silk tartan evening jacket I made 25 years ago that’s still perfect with skirts, tailored trousers, jeans whatever. But it hardly gets an airing these days. No one seems to dress up for any occasion though I personally prefer to dress formally for funerals, it just seems more respectful to me than torn jeans and tea shirts with slogans. Your post has reminded me to have another clean out, there’s stuff in the wardrobe than someone else may as well get some use out of. I probably should start on my china cabinet I don’t really need 4 white dinner sets these days!!!!!
This makes me grateful I do very little shopping online, and never buy clothes or homewares… I’d hate to think I was responsible in even a tiny way for such dreadful waste and disrespect of the work of the people who made the items. For me style isn’t so much optional as…. let me see: unlikely? unusual? too much like hard work? uncomfortable? Well, you get the idea.
Absolutely YES to all of these options and double YES to mending and style optional!!
Definitely food for thought. I wonder how many of those ‘multiple sizes to get the right one’ ever get sent back and sold. Probably only at goodwill or an equivalent. We need to think much harder about this.
I had no idea online returns went this route. What an eye opener. Thank you for sharing.
This has always been my mantra, Celia! But then I have never been in fashion. You have really been posting lately- I have been lurking – not commenting- but I finally changed my password and decided to say hello.
Heidi!! How lovely to hear from you, dearheart! Hope you’re all well! xx
We have sold our home and moved closer to our grandchildren just before the Covid stay at home crisis- so I am living in a small flat 2 blocks from my son- but only see them once a week or so when the boys come over to decorate our driveway with chalk drawings. We are well- I have been baking breads and cookies to share with my new neighbors now that we can get flour and yeast again.
It just beggars belief what is seen as practical in business practices!!!! This is yet another reason I dislike buying stuff online. I don’t buy a lot of secondhand but when you said about hiring, it made me remember that when I did my deb ball as a 17 year old I hired the dress and am glad now. And I did a lot of borrowing dresses as a uni student when balls were all the rage. Which might explain why I have never had a huge wardrobe! I loved seeing your wedding outfit which I missed first time around. And I have just finished doing some darning on an old jumper – I have looked over your tutorial quite a few times to get my head around how to do it and am delighted that I am now able to darn – still learning and getting neater but thank you so much for that tutorial which is really helping me keep my jumpers!
Hi Celia. First of all, I have been following your blog for such a long time and always look forward your posts.Always something interesting 😊. I have a question that you may be able to help me with. I live in country Queensland and have a friend who is searching for Seville oranges to make a liquor. I have never seen Seville oranges in Qld but she is coming down to Sydney next week and is hoping that they are available down there. You were the person who first popped in to my mind. Your love of all things foodie was the thing that brought me to your blog. So I hope that you don’t mind me asking if you have any idea where she would find them. I am sure that you would understand the search for the perfect ingredient. Always hopeful. Regards. Linda
Linda, thanks for reading! I’m really sorry though – I’ve never seen Seville oranges for sale either – only in ready to eat jams. I hope she tracks some down. I’ll let you know if I hear of any!
Thank you for getting back to me. In the forty odd years that I have lived here, I have never seen or heard of them here. Only in the U.K. It was worth a try. Stay safe 😊
Thank you Celia – I had no idea of this practice. I haven’t bought new clothes for over a year now and when in the UK I’m going to buy more second hand stuff. This is a further incentive to do so – you are always inspiring.
Vintage hire – what a wnderful idea! I love vintage but unless I am lucky and find something in an op shop, it is too expensive. And this way, lots of people get to wear the items and enjoy them. It is unbelievable how wasteful our business practices are. Fast fashion is such a waste.