What's happening?

A group of teenagers are searching through what looks like a mountain of clothing - tops, shirts, skirts, even old wedding dresses. Suddenly, one of them holds up a pair of jeans. "They're perfect," she announces. 

The sale of second-handPreviously owned or used. clothes is booming. Today, one third of Gen ZShort for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. shoppers say they buy second hand clothes, and nearly half say they sell clothes they do not want to wear any more.

And second hand shoppers say it is more than just another trendSomething that becomes popular very quickly. . Many say they do no want to spend money on fast fashion - clothes from stores that make lots of clothes, very quickly and at very cheap prices. 

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Critics say fast fashion brands are bad for the workers who make the clothes and bad for the planet. They say fast fashion encourages people to wear clothes only once or twice before throwing them away and buying new clothes.

Second-hand shoppers say buying other people's unwanted clothes stops more clothes from ending up in rubbish bins - and it can be cheaper than buying new clothes too. 

But others point out that buying second-hand is not always best for the planet. Some second-hand clothes are shipped to other countries and sorted, before being returned to shops in Britain. 

Yes! We buy far too many clothes. Many people wear items only once or twice before throwing them away. It is bad for the planet and bad for people who make clothes for little pay. 

No! Sometimes everyone needs to buy new clothing. There is nothing wrong with wanting new outfits. And fast fashion is often the cheapest option.