creative commons photo |
So, when buying pre-owned things you would think that you are not contributing to the psycho/physical effects of sweatshop labor or to the effects that manufacturing has on the environment, among other things.
I might have continued to hold this belief had I not had this niggling fear that my efforts of buying pre-owned clothing were not guilt free. The loophole or catch I realized is the merchant.
So, my question was and is:
What do the sellers do with the money? Do they use it to buy new things? Are my buying practices only enabling those that have no ethical compass? So I decided to create a little survey to send to the shops that I buy from on Etsy (an online marketplace).
Yesterday, I sent out the survey to some 50 shops (In the survey introduction I originally said 100 but that estimation was a bit overblown since I had not factored in that my feedback rating - which is over 100 on one account - includes feedback from sellers that I I bought multiple items from and some things handmade i.e. not vintage and some from suppliers and I did not send the survey to these shops). I am still collecting responses and I will be writing an article which I will share the survey results.
My motivation for writing a survey is because I want to get an idea of where my money goes.