As the third of four children I grew up in hand-me-downs. Clothing was passed down from older siblings, an extensive circle of cousins, and bought from Frenchy’s,  some may argue a now iconic secondhand store. It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford new, in fact I have several favourite outfit memories that were new clothes (My Strawberry Shortcake dress when I was 5!) It was just understood that quality items could and should be worn until they were frayed at the seams, and had holes in the knees. Then they migrated to the rag bag.

When I hit high school, secondhand shopping became more of a fashion choice.

My best friend and I would save up our babysitting money and find a ride to the “Big City” of Halifax to hit the vintage shops looking for hand beaded, cashmere sweater sets, and delicate silk camisoles, and rhinestone jewellery that they just don’t make anymore. When we were old enough to drive, all the girls in our social circle would pack into a car for a day long Frenchy’s tour, hitting all stores within a 3-hour driving radius looking for Levi’s 501 men’s button fly jeans, cool leather jackets, and retro t-shirts with odd slogans on them. It wasn’t trendy, it was a fun and affordable way to find our personal style without having to compromise on quality.

By the time I was in my 20’s my apartment was appointed with with well-worn furniture and used dishes, and the whole idea secondhand was being re-branded. Gone were the days of sorting through bins of clothes smelling faintly of mothballs. Now clothing was hung up and individually priced. Places starting charging more for brand names and some store specialized in designer clothes. It wasn’t about quality, affordable fashion anymore, it was now a status symbol. Except you didn’t buy secondhand, you shopped pre-loved and vintage at curated shops, dah-ling. (Bonus points if you bragged over a glass of red, post yoga class.)

Call it what you want but a rose by any other name is still a secondhand rose.  

I still enjoy the thrill of the hunt and finding a great bargain, but these days I shop secondhand because it is much more sustainable than buying new. Fast fashion brands are producing twice as much clothing as they did in 2000, most of which is not designed to endure years of wear. This along with the following stats are enough to make me think twice about heading to the mall:

·       It takes 20,000 liters of water to produce 1kg of cotton
·       92 million tonnes of textile waste end up in landfills annually
·       10% of microplastics dispersed into the ocean each year come from textiles
·       The average consumer in the USA throws away 81.5 lbs of clothing every year
·       The fashion industry is responsible for 20%of global waste water

*Source:Earth.org

Which is why I got searching for the secondhand shops whenever we are in a new country.

In Fiji, Vanuatu, The Solomon’s, and Papua New Guinea goods mostly came from Australia. Not only was I able to refresh my wardrobe and restock my drawer of linen tea towels, I found several vintage Le Cruset enameled cast iron pots and pans that are still some of my galley everyday pans.  

In the Philippines the secondhand shops were a mix of Aus, USA, and Canadian brands, with the occasional store specializing in goods from Japan. During Covid one of the bright spots of my monthly trip into town was spending some time in the open air “ukay ukay” stores finding treasures to replace my dwindling wardrobe and fun items to upcycle.

One day I came home with a heavy white canvas lab coat and a pair of barely worn, blush pink Burton snowboard overalls complete with back zips that made it possible to pee without removing all your other gear. I am going to crack that up pandemic stress buying – you know you did it too – and not the fact that I am a sucker for the dollar bin. Also, growing up in Canada and performing many a pee dance while trying to undo zippers and strings, and pull down snowpants with boots attached while wearing snow caked woolie mittens I thought the design was just AMAZING. (And yes, I still have them. And no, I haven’t had a chance to wear them yet.)

Here in Kudat there is a weekly pop ukay ukay market. (The words rolls of the tongue so nicely that they are now part of my everyday lexicon now.) During our months in the yard I would sneak away on rainy Tuesdays to wander amidst the racks that filled the parking lot next to the outdoor veggie market.

Neatly organized and divided into sensible displays, the goods come from a range of countries.

One seller seemed to have a supplier from Japan, another mostly sold Korean labels, many have recognizable brands from Australia. One person only deals with shoes, another bags, another curtains and fabric goods. Most sellers have racks set up under foldable gazebos and a web of tarps to protect from both the hot sun and the pouring rain, day depending.

Others who score the cement floor under a permanent high roof often spread tarps on the ground and leave their goods in organized heaps that you are invited to shift through, standing or sitting, and its polite to remove your shoes when you are in their ‘store.’

I went in search of shorts and t-shirts to wear in the yard, although that doesn’t mean I wasn’t discerning in my choices.

I also was searching for bed sheets. Having a triangle shaped bed is both slightly odd to sleep in and difficult to dress. Our vee berth is as wide and long as a king-size bed, however it narrows quickly to about 24-inches at the forward end. Combine this with the fact that we have to both climb over the head of the bed then circle like a dog to lay down and it’s difficult to keep standard fitted sheets from coming untucked. Not to mention king-sized sheets are often impossible to find new in most places, one can only assume this is because king-sized beds are not common. Over the years I’ve given up on trying make standard sheets fit correctly and instead use flat sheets to make a custom bottom sheet for our funny big/little bunk.

The Kudat ukay ukay didn’t disappoint.

On my first visit I found a lovely dark grey flat sheet. I am usually not into grey, it always feels rather dirty and dull to me and I like a bed to look warm, crisp and inviting. However,  the sheet was heavy and silky smooth against my skin, and the grey dark enough to read as a colour rather than just dingy. And a king-sized 250-thread count sheet for $5…well that’s hard to pass up.

After the sheet was washed I sewed a 45cm wide portion of an older sheet across the top to create a pocket. (The rest of the sheet went into the rag bag for yard projects.) This pocket captured the head of the vee berth mattress like a fitted sheet is designed to do, but more securely. Then I trimmed excess off the lower corners so that there is considerable less bulk to tuck under the narrowest end of the bed. After a quick test fit I neatly hemmed the edges and TADA! A new-ish bottom sheet that not only fits our bunk and stays neatly in place and feels luxurious.

As luck would have it I found a dark grey queen-sized duvet cover on another ukay ukay trip and was able to replicate the results, this time needing to add a section of the back of the duvet cover to the lower front edge so I had ample to tuck in at the foot of the bed. However, I still had enough excess fabric to make a matching pillow slip.

I admit those snowpants were not good decision making. Bargain price or not I don’t need snowpants in the tropics.

So, my goal this year is to be more conservative when at the ukay ukay, buying what is necessary or useful, not just what I fancy. Other recent secondhand finds include a curtain that I was able to upcycle into window coverings for the main cabin, several linen pillow slips, a hand-made cotton kimono that I shortened and wear as a housecoat, 10 meters of black denim that I scored for $3 and is waiting for the perfect upcycle project (stay tuned), a beautiful silk cover up that is waiting for a beach day, single sheet sets for the settee bunk, a new stainless steel tea pot for Steve, and a coffee mug for me. Nothing was over $5 and everything stayed out of the landfill.

Perhaps writing about my secondhand shopping habit and the upcycling projects I get up to seems indulgent or insignificant. But I believe that it is the details that really make a difference. When we each take a few small steps towards sustainable daily living it does, collectively, make an impact.  

Love,
H&S