For those of us raised by the internet, Facebook is for more than socialising and keeping up with friends. Gen Y turns to their news feeds for guidance, assistance, advice, and everything in between. Once you Googled any question that popped into your head before you considered opening a book; now you type it into your status box without giving the search engine a second thought. You’d struggle to find anyone under 30 who hadn’t put a call out for a new hairdresser, dry cleaner, or dinner recommendation to the blue-tinted crystal ball that is Facebook.
Considering this, it’s not surprising that young men and women are turning to Facebook to shop. Unlike other sites where online commerce is controlled by a company or brand, Clothes For Sale groups are community minded and run. Usually organised by a handful of unpaid admin, they’re the curiously tidy personification of young people’s sartorial needs and concerns in 2014.
Online shopping’s impact on stores has been well documented, as has our increasingly savvy ability to hunt out a bargain wherever we can get it. While buying a garment at it’s full price in a shop is a luxury in the post GFC world, now you probably don’t even need to buy it from a large online retailer. The best deals are to be found on these expansive online groups where people post their mostly designer wears for others to bid on or straight out buy.
They’re the product of a society where quality fashion’s price tags aren’t realistic in many young people’s worlds, but consumers know their options aren’t limited to what’s offered by large retailers. The presence of online shopping has taught us that a better price is out there for those who look—and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, create a platform to service that need yourself. Many of the individuals who create, run, or participate in these sites entered the job market at a time when employment opportunities were thin. They’re part of the generation who was forced to go into business for themselves, and generate new ideas to create opportunities in an environment that wasn’t forthcoming with them. It’s hardly a surprise they applied the same attitude to shopping.
But it’s a trend that’s motivated by more than just money, the social and environmental impact of where our clothes come from is clearer today than ever. Not only do we value our clothes, and understand they may have life left in them after we’re done, we respect the work involved to produce them. The pressure to keep cost down in High Street stores has bred a dangerous culture of substandard working conditions that many fashion minded individuals don’t want to participate in. Independent online communities that resell designer clothes not only keep perfectly good garments in circulation, but also provide an alternative to many ethically grey low and mid-priced options. Previously to buy a garment for under a hundred dollars would mean turning to a mass produced product, now you can buy something that was made with care for a realistic price, it just might have belonged to one of your friends first.
The cult of the High Street has also created trends that are moving faster than ever before, and not only are we impatient for items to go on sale but we’re usually done with them before they even get a chance to. The natural solution is to buy, wear, and sell at your own pace. If you can’t wait for a style to become dated enough to buy it at a reduced rate in store, these sites offer other fashion fans who may be half a step ahead of you and willing to part with them in the quest for their next fantasy.
Much has been said about the damage of these rapid trends and our insatiable hunger to consume, but if this is to be a reality of how we treat our possessions at least an environment has been created that balances it. Cheap clothes aren’t bought, worn, and forgotten—responsibly made designer clothes are bought, taken care of, and sold when they still hold value and can be of use to another person.
But what separates this shopping trend from others is that we’re a social generation that was raised on these media platforms. As much as people like to lament our isolation from each other, networks like Facebook and Twitter can foster a culture of sharing and community and is as natural as breathing.
Over time these groups have become more than a place to buy and sell, they’re a network. At the most basic level when you’re doing business with someone who had the same taste, budget, and shoe size as you it’s hard to not strike up a conversation. The groups are relatively small, members need to be approved or invited, so they also come with a feeling of safety. Anyone acting in an unseemly way is reported and removed, and if you do meet up with someone for an exchange or to try something on you have the peace of mind that comes with having 30 mutual friends.
Beyond the simple exchange of clothes, they have naturally over time become their own social centers. Like the rest of Facebook, advice is offered and requested, in jokes developed and a sense of loyalty is born. Like any corner of the internet, at their worst they can have trolls or bullies, but they’re dealt with swiftly as friends, and friends of friends close ranks to protect a community they have been part of growing. It’s easy to shrug the trend off as a different branch of consumerism, but it’s one with relationships and a social conscience at its core. It’s a natural, but very modern social development, a lot of people should feel proud of. But first, who is looking to sell a pair of Marni sandals in a size 7?
Credits
Text Wendy Seyfret
Photography Ben Thomson