Sustainable Fashion in Cork top picks
We’re back again with another blog post, this week talking about sustainability in fashion, and where you can find sustainable clothes in Cork. As thriting is gaining popularity in europe, and beyond, a lot of our student’s ask us what thrift stores we have in the city and where they can chop sustainably so we thought we would make you guys a guide!
Cork is overflowing with places where you can buy unique second-hand clothes while participating in ethical purchasing. There are mostly charity shops however as we don’t have popular thrift stores compared to other countries so it can be difficult to be sustainable while buying clothes as charity shops do not make a selection of clothes depending on demand or style.
While this is true, with a little effort, you can still find something unique at a lower price. Charity shops also give you an easy way of donating as all the benefits will be donated to the association.
We’ve made a list of local charity shops in the city centre for you here, you can click on them to get their location on google maps:
While charity shops are our main form of acessing second hand clothes in the city, were not without thrift stores altogether, we have a vintage shop called Nine Crows Vintage, which you can see directions to by clicking here.
Our final means of buying second hand clothes here in Cork are vintage fairs and second hand clothes swaps, which are a great way to buy and sell second hand clothes and meet like minded people in the city. We will leave a list of the regular ones we have here:
- Kilogarm
Kilogarm is a vintage clothing brand which organizes Kilo sale events in many cities in Ireland. You just choose the clothes you want and pay it by weight. The kilo cost 30€ ! There will be a sale in Cork on the 25th of March, click here to find out more about that one.
- The Black Market Clothes Swap
This event happens in the Marina Market each second Sunday of the month and is a free to enter good old fasioned clothing swap. You just need to bring some clothes you don’t wear anymore and pick some others. Learn more about this one by clicking here .
- The Marina Market Vintage Fair
A Vintage Fair will be held on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of March 2023 and will put the spotlight on the fashion, music,culture and design of the previous decades that we liked so much. You can see more info on it by clicking here.
Now that you have a good handle on where to find sustainable second hand clothes in Cork, why should you?
1. It’s cheaper : In view of the rising inflation, more and more people abandon the idea of buying brand-new clothes and prefer to turn to second-hand because they offer low prices.
2. It’s sustainable : Buying second-hand clothes avoids the fabrication of new products thus unnecessary gas emission. These shops extends the lifetime of clothes reducing waste.
3. It’s fashionable : In charity shops and thrift-shops you can find some unique clothes that are no longer manufactured. Take advantage of the fact that Vintage fashion returned to trend these last 10 years. You will stand out from the others with your style.
4. You will contribute to the spirit of solidarity in the fight against climate change and in the defense of important causes such as the fight against poverty and exclusion, child protection, cancer research or animal welfare,etc.
5. You will also support the local economy thus the development of local businesses.
As you can see there are many ways you can dress sustainably in Cork whether it is in charity shops, thrift-stores or pop-up events. We hope that it will help you find a new way of shopping while protecting the environment.
If you find yourself visiting one of these places and enjoy it, feel free to tag us on Facebook or Instagram !