Oxfam Poll: Half of Brits Believe Fashion Can Change the World

Oxfam Poll: Half of Brits Believe Fashion Can Change the World

[ad_1]

Garments aren’t nearly fashion — they’re an announcement. A brand new Oxfam ballot has revealed that half of UK adults consider trend has the facility to drive social change, with second-hand buying main the cost.

The survey, launched to mark the shut of Oxfam’s Second Hand September marketing campaign, discovered that greater than half (56%) of adults have worn clothes to make a political, social or cultural assertion. Youthful individuals are main the motion, with two-thirds (66%) of under-35s saying trend can spark change, in comparison with a 3rd (34%) of over-55s.

Second-hand fashion on the rise

Sustainability sits on the coronary heart of this shift. Virtually 8 in 10 individuals (79%) see shopping for second hand as a method to make a constructive distinction, whereas 63% consider it helps defend the planet. Practically half (48%) really feel their clothes selections can immediately form the world they dwell in, and greater than six in 10 (63%) say garments assist specific their identification.

The urge for food for pre-loved trend is rising quickest amongst youthful shoppers: 62% of adults beneath 45 wish to put on extra second-hand clothes, in comparison with 42% of over-55s.

Style’s strongest assertion

When requested to decide on essentially the most iconic trend motion, Brits voted the Nineteen Sixties’ mini skirt—pioneered by Mary Quant and worn by icons like Twiggy— because the look that finest symbolised girls’s liberation and social change.

“Style has all the time been a mirror of society, a method to present what you stand for, and a device to push for change,” mentioned Nina Manandhar, creator of What We Wore – A Folks’s Historical past of British Model. “From mini-skirts to slogan T-shirts and Vivienne Westwood to right this moment’s technology embracing second-hand trend, clothes has all the time impressed and amplified social impression.”

Icons and activism

Scotland’s first Black supermodel, Eunice Olumide MBE, who’s supporting the marketing campaign, mentioned: “Style has all the time been a strong power to attach communities and drive change.”

Eunice Olumide MBE for Oxfam Second Hand September marketing campaign 2025. Credit score: Nick Andrews for Oxfam

“For me, it’s about power. I recreated a glance impressed by Black communities within the Nineteen Sixties-80s, utilizing finds from Oxfam. Style is selecting to decorate for the world you need, making an announcement about what you stand for.”

Cultural icons celebrated for utilizing trend as activism embody the Spice Ladies, John Lennon, Naomi Campbell and Jameela Jamil. Designers named most influential embody Mary Quant, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Katharine Hamnett.

Past September

Oxfam’s marketing campaign message extends past one month, with 43% of respondents believing second-hand trend may in the future change quick trend because the mainstream selection.

To be taught extra or store second hand, go to Oxfam’s web site or one among its 500 UK retailers.

[ad_2]

Source link