How sustainable is shipping vintage all over the world?
Some time ago, I fell in love with a prairie dress - and those who know me know that I'm not even a dress person. It was a handmade piece locally made in California out of deadstock fabric, one of those businesses that tick all the right boxes - wages fairly paid and small production of whatever fabric is available in the reuse, recycle fashion - can't get greener than that. But when I enquired about UK shipping, the owner refused, stating that air shipping outside of the US isn't sustainable and that's not something they want to contribute to. Fair enough, they're the king of their castles, I thought, but I don't like to give up easily. Me too, I take pride in my business being as eco-friendly as possible, but I never question shipping and its environmental cost. The shop owner must have had their reasons to stick to the local-only policy and to be completely fair, I probably wouldn't have worn that dress much anyway. But it got me thinking. Is air shipping really that bad, and should you hold your horses before you checkout your Etsy basket?
Here's what I learned.
Shipping a parcel across the ocean via plane comes with its significant carbon footprint and there's no sugarcoating about it. Airplanes are among the most carbon-intensive forms of transportation and the energy used to power a plane, especially for long-haul flights, generates a substantial amount of CO2 emissions. To get an idea of the impact, studies show that shipping a 1 kg parcel by air from the UK to the US can emit around 2.3 kg of CO2, so if we take said dress as an example, the parcel weight with all the packaging would come up to roughly 1.5 kg. That’s over 3.4 kg of CO2 emissions just for transportation alone.
Now, let's compare that to the emissions of producing a new item. I'll use a cotton t-shirt as an example, as there's a lot of available data that will help me draw a scale here.
On average, a new cotton t-shirt might produce up to 7 kg of CO2 during its lifecycle (from production to shipping). It will also require 2,700 litres of water (roughly one person's drinking needs for 2.5 years). But whether this will be the final total of its environmental cost depends on the longevity of such a t-shirt - those produced by fast fashion brands on average last up to 20 washes, organic, sustainable cotton, if cared for properly, can last 3-5 years. I'm not good at maths, but it's pretty obvious that the longer you wear an item, the lower its environmental impact becomes per use.
Therefore, shipping a vintage item, even across the planet and back, still carries a smaller environmental footprint, compared to buying and shipping a new garment. The emissions tied to the production and transportation of new clothing have already been "spent" on that vintage piece, and by giving it a new home, you're keeping it out of landfills and extending its life. So, while shipping itself is never entirely carbon-free, the sustainability benefits of purchasing vintage far outweigh the environmental cost of its transportation.
But that obviously doesn't mean that you should not care about your CO2 offset and start buying vintage from around the world irresponsibly. Just because something is vintage doesn't mean it’s inherently sustainable if it contributes to overconsumption. And yes, you can overconsume vintage. Who hasn't done it on Vinted just because an item was listed for a fiver... not me...
The shop owner who refused to ship a dress to England was a great example of how small businesses are leading the way when it comes to sustainability. I was annoyed at first but I respect that - they've decided to stay true to their beliefs even if it meant turning down the sale. It's always within those small businesses that you'll see the change - and yes, this change is the literal drop in the ocean, but persistence overcomes resistance, right?
At Cowboys Trading Post, we’re not so strict. We ship all over the world in biodegradable envelopes and often reuse packaging we have at hand. All your orders are packed in recycled paper and sealed with recycled paper tape. The 'thank you' card attached to your order is printed on recycled paper too, here, in a local print shop (hollow if you're in Notts and I'll give you their details). I often yap about why choosing vintage simply makes sense from every possible angle, so I hope that by spreading the knowledge, I can contribute to changing somebody's habits.
Marina