Ukay-Ukay Reigns as a Sustainable Business
Ukay-Ukay, or thrift clothes, are secondhand garments previously loved by their owners. These pieces are still of good quality and are still reusable. It provides people with a means of livelihood and has a positive impact on the environment.
A Thrift Seller
Maryrose Collado has been selling thrift clothes since May 2020. She shares that she is not just earning money from her ukay-ukay business, but she is also grateful to be able to help the environment.
“My business also helps the environment because we can reuse clothes instead of throwing them away.”
How Ukay-Ukay helps the environment
The 2016 report by the Nordic Council of Ministers about the “Exports of Nordic Used Textiles” proves that thrifting helps the environment.
It also says that reusing and recycling textiles saves 190,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases annually.
The Nordic Council encourages thrifting because it reduces lessens landfill pollution and waste.
Environmental Price of Fashion
According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions per year.
“The True Cost,” a documentary film by Andrew Morgan, shows how the clothing industry became the second-most polluter of clean water.
It reveals that while the world is experiencing water scarcity, fast fashion uses 700 gallons of water in the making of a single shirt.
The documentary calls for the fashion industry to change its ways to mitigate the effects of the environmental crisis.
#SupportThrifting
Thrifting is one sustainable fashion practice to buy clothes that do not hurt the environment.
Mary believes how beneficial thrift clothes are to the world. “We should support the ukay-ukay business because it is healthier for people and the planet. Through it, we will be able to help save our natural resources, reduce our carbon footprint, and save animals’ lives at a very low cost.”
Go and shop sustainably!
