It’s 2026 and supporting fast fashion is most definitely ‘out’. Shopping sustainably, however, is most definitely ‘in’. With 92 million tons of clothes-related rubbish being thrown away every year, and clothing production on a constant rise, it’s time to start taking action.
I spoke with the founder of Clothes Cycle, Poppy Collingwood-Cameron, to find out how her business is helping to promote sustainable shopping practices. “I’ve always been into second-hand fashion and charity shops since I was an early teen,” Poppy says, and Clothes Cycle was born from this love of sustainable fashion. As a travelling second hand clothes pop up market, Clothes Cycle aims to show people how “accessible, easy, and fun it is to shop second hand.”
In recent years, platforms like Vinted and Depop have experienced a huge surge in popularity, but any seasoned Vinted-warrior will be familiar with the aggravating and all too common experience of finding the item you ordered is the wrong size, damaged, or it is not what the seller says it was at all. Poppy admits that she “would always get scammed on Depop, or things would arrive and they’d have holes, or they’d be too small,” so creating an in-person second hand shopping experience was a way to combat some of these issues.
And yet, in person second hand shopping may evoke images of rummaging through huge bins of slightly odd and downright bizarre clothes. When you’re elbows-deep in clothes that look like they’ve come straight from your grandma’s wardrobe, it can feel like popping into Zara might be a lot easier. But Clothes Cycle strives to tackle this negative perception of second-hand shopping. Poppy emphasised the efforts that sellers go to in order to make their stalls appealing and easy to shop at — ironing, hanging, and curating their items to ensure the Clothes Cycle experience is “accessible” and “a fun day out.”
On top of this, Poppy told me that “at our upcoming Edinburgh event we’re planning to have a free alterations station.” Not only will this make finding your size easier, but it raises awareness for the sustainable practice of altering your own clothes. A patch over the hole in your jeans is not only sustainable, but something unique to give your otherwise uniform jeans a bit of character.
In our modern mentality, we have come to view clothing as temporary and disposable, which is easy when fast fashion companies like Shein are pumping out piles upon piles of items at prices so low that it’s possible to buy a new wardrobe every season. While Poppy recognised that the second-hand market cannot compete with Shein’s abhorrently low prices, she believes that the quality of second-hand items is what sets them apart. These are clothes that are made to last and to transcend the rapid cycle of microtrends that seems to overwhelm the fashion industry every season.
I’ll openly admit that I love the thrill of buying new clothes, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying curating a personal style, but it’s important to reframe this in the context of second-hand shopping. It’s not difficult to start implementing a one-in-one-out system in your wardrobe, share clothes between your friends, or mend your clothes yourself. We all have a responsibility to make changes in our own lives to combat the detrimental impacts of fast fashion, so log back into your old Vinted account, or pop down to your local charity shop — Edinburgh certainly has its fair share. The truth is that shopping sustainably is cool, far cooler than any Shein shopping spree could ever be.
For 20 per cent off tickets at Clothes Cycle’s upcoming Edinburgh event on the 22nd of March, use the discount code EDISOC2026.
Image provided by Poppy Collingwood-Cameron for The Student.