During this year's "Second Hand September," the fast fashion industry is coming under increasingly visible pressure. Lorna Fallon, Oxfam's head of retail, wrote that consumers are increasingly recognizing the value of second-hand clothing, and retailers should seize this opportunity and respond.

According to her observations, constraints around fast fashion are tightening on multiple levels. Bristol recently became the first UK city to ban fast fashion advertising; new regulatory measures are being rolled out across Europe; and at the same time, some large companies—including leading brands in the ultra-fast fashion sector—are facing outside scrutiny.

Fallon argues that second-hand and circular fashion should not be seen as a marginal business, but can fully become part of mainstream retail. For traditional retailers, consumers' recognition of the value of second-hand clothing is rising, which constitutes a market opportunity worth seizing.

Against the backdrop of the above overlapping policy and public opinion pressures, voices advocating for the integration of circular fashion into mainstream retail channels provide the old clothing and second-hand apparel industry with narrative space to move further toward formalization and scale.

Source: ‘Circular fashion can be part of mainstream retail’ · Originally published on 2026-09-28