Why "pre-loved" is turning out to be the hottest thing this summer.

In case you didn’t know, Love Island, the reality TV show known for using fast-fashion sponsors, has chosen to use eBay as its sponsor this year and the islanders will all be sporting pre-loved garments. This means that instead of everyone’s television screens being plastered with cheap, mass-produced items, people are going to see one of the most influential, trend-setting shows promoting second-hand fashion. This is massive. Not only is this going to be amazing for the promotion of circular and sustainable fashion whilst the show airs, it is also going to be interesting to see how this affects the fashion industry after the program ends for the year. Instead of the islanders coming off the show and pumping out edits and collections with fast fashion brands, will we see these influencers working more with second-hand retailers and using their influence to promote a more sustainable way of shopping?

Our question is, what has pushed such a mainstream, and normally big promoter of fast fashion, to turn to pre-loved??

On one hand, maybe the Love Island producers have not been able to ignore the fact that buying second-hand is becoming the new way to shop. Research has shown that 20% of Brits are now buying more second-hand clothes than they were two years ago, with 16% of their wardrobes now being filled with pre-loved items. It is possible that the makers of the program have realised that if they want to keep their show “on trend”, they have to open themselves up to the idea that second-hand and vintage clothes are the new favourites. It is better for the planet, it is usually better in terms of price and with trends from the 90s and other decades always resurfacing, it is also in fashion.?

On the other hand, perhaps the program has decided it wants to use its influence to better people’s shopping habits in order to help the environment. With global carbon dioxide levels reaching the highest recorded levels ever in April and with no signs of that getting better, EVERYONE is having to reflect on how they can do better for our planet. As fast fashion contributes 92 million tonnes of waste per year, does Love Island want to be the driving force for promoting a more sustainable and circular way of buying clothes to its audience?

In any case, whatever the reason is for this partnership, we love it, and we are so excited to see the promotion of a more sustainable way of living hitting the mainstream. By just announcing the partnership we have seen second-hand fashion being discussed on Loose Women and This Morning as well as articles being published in The Guardian, Drapers, Vogue and by ITV itself. Hopefully, this is the first of many more influential partnerships for second-hand and slow fashion businesses and also the start of more people making informed decisions when filling their wardrobes.

What do you think this partnership means for the fashion industry and, in turn, the environment?