Recycling as a concept became interesting and popular in India about 15-20 years ago. We always knew about recycling plastics bags and books since our school days but that was that. Once you start consciously observing how consumerism drives your need for acquiring more and more new things, you become conscious about the goods that you bring into your home and into your life and how you can make the most of older things by giving them a new look or repurposing them. At least, that is what started to happen with me and other people my age in the early 2000s: so we started reusing plastic bags, there were bans on single use plastics and we went back to the traditional Indian eco-friendly ways of using reusable, home-made cloth bags (that were also refashioned out of old bedsheets/ clothes in the first place), lesser use of disposable cutlery and switching them with traditional mud/ steel or brass utensils etc. However, even while making my own individual efforts or even collective efforts as a small group, I often questioned if it really mattered when I recycled a miniscule amount as opposed to the massive wastage of bigger goods?!?
I write this article to explore the relation between Sustainability and recycling and reusing older heavy goods, especially in the context of second-hand stores prevalent in western countries, also popularly known as thrift stores on social media these days. But before the thrift stores became ‘cool’ thanks to Instagram and TikTok, the concept of reusing older furniture, appliances, electric goods, cutlery and kitchen containers and even clothes had been popular in the West since 1950s.
Kringloopwinkel: Second hand stores in the Netherlands
I moved to the Netherlands about two years ago and found the second-hand stores here. Honestly, this second-hand store culture was a big shock for me and the idea of using somebody’s used furniture and appliances was absolutely unthinkable!
While we Indians are a humble community, we do not believe in using other people’s REJECTS. We not only abstain from getting rid of the things that we might not use but we also make sure that we completely exploit things till they have long outlived their intended lifetimes. An empathetic reason to offer here would be the tragic history of abject poverty to which we (Our Parents’ generation: Indians born between 1940s to 1970s) were subjected for centuries together, thanks to our colonial past! GenZs and Millenials and even the 90s kids who have seen and grown up in prosperity, abundance and now sheer excess, fail to understand this survival and hoarding instinct from our parents. While we want to go ALL MINIMALISTIC with our newly found friend Amreeka, our parents still find joy and pride in using that same old Shirt - turned into a rag - torn to pieces till the day it gives up on life voluntarily,
Because they find comfort in having enough...they have lived in times when they did not have ANYTHING and survival was the norm of the day.
Most of our parents' generation still live in that postcolonial hangover; After several fights with my parents urging them to GET RID of the USELESS junk at home, I have realized that it is their comfort zone. It would be cruel to pull them out of it forcefully till they are ready to transition to the current reality of abundance and EXCESS!
Anyway,
So, I was saying that when we INDIANS retire things, they are ABSOUTE JUNK! And that is why, considering a second-hand store to furnish my new home took some getting used to…
and I am so glad that I came around because I was pleasantly surprised
This idea gradually grew on me once I realized the difference between the second-hand goods in India vs. here! In the spiritual, mindful, and sustainable sense, shopping at the second-hand store has also taught us to focus on everyday maintenance of our worldly possessions and giving them away while still ensuring they are usable and valued by someone else 😊
Not only do the second-hand stores in the Netherlands refurbish older furniture, but their quality is matching with new store-bought items. What I especially love about such stores is that they employ senior citizens and people with disabilities thus imbibing the core values of Sustainability AND Inclusion. It’s a WINNER all the way!
What I eventually learned as well was that since Europe doesn’t really produce many things (as much as the third world countries) it is important to maintain a Circular Economy. This means that instead of constantly feeding raw materials in the production industry, they prefer to repair, maintain, reuse, and recycle existing materials and products for longer. The keyword here is GOOD MAINTENANCE though. It is to be noted that second-hand stores have stayed in business because they do not compromise the quality of their products. In any case, this addresses the sustainability issue as it reduces the waste to minimum and helps the environment.
What do thinkers and analysts say about the thrift stores? Why is the movement hated? The concept of second-hand stores has found patrons in the fashion industry in recent years...
BUT at the same time,
it has also faced the wrath of public ire on being discarded as a fraud concept that promotes Greenwashing!
As a real person, I have experienced the sensibility and compassion towards the environment (that is central to the concept of Sustainability) through these second-hand stores and therefore I fail to understand the discontent about thrift stores. If any of my readers have any leads on this idea, please share it in the comments below, I would like to learn and explore about views to the contrary and any starting point will be appreciated.
Until then, my motto is: RECYCLE – REUSE – REDUCE!
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