Why Pre-Owned
In today’s consumer-driven society, every purchase we make has a significant impact on our planet. The more we consume and the more resources we use, the more waste we generate. But what if we could mitigate our impact and contribute to saving the planet through a simple action like buying second-hand instead of new? Explore how:
- Save Money – Buy Unique – Create or Extend a Story
Second-hand furniture has more personality than new, whether it’s the story of how you got it or the seller’s account of that piece’s history. For example, if you buy furniture from Contemp vs Antique – each item will have own history being it a unique Victorian / Antique piece of furniture or vintage / mid century, retro or even something modern which hasn’t been used much.
The thrill of a hunt – adds to the history as well as your positive attitude and aim to find what’s “not on a high street”. You will feel pride and certainly have a raised mood after receiving great quality item, which you have been searching for a while. When you buy new, you’re typically choosing from mass-produced items that you and your neighbours might all have. Why be like everyone else? Beyond the obvious benefits of buying used, you get the added bonus of owning items that you won’t find just anywhere. Imagine scoring a great armchair that’s perfect for reading all of your used books, or watching a favourite tv series. Furthermore, with time, you decide to reupholster the chair and add your own stamp on it – story you can’t buy! Furthermore, a vintage or antique item may and will have wear and tear representing the age – and that’s another past chapter in furniture life. When buying mass-produced furniture from retail stores, it can be difficult to stand out and express your individual style. Pre-owned and vintage items are frequently one-of-a-kind items that are no longer produced or produced in lower amounts for quite high prices.
- Save the Planet – save resources and reduce waste
The furniture industry is quite a wasteful one. From textiles and woods to plastics and resins, it takes a lot to create the items for our homes, especially if they’re built to last only a few years before breaking or looking out of date. Buying second-hand reduces demand for new resources, and it comes without packaging. Not only does buying used reduce the number of natural resources being used, it also reduces the amount of energy used and pollution that’s being emitted. Things like pesticides, burning fuel in the trucks that haul the items, toxic chemicals and carbon emissions. And manufacturing new furniture generates 100 times more greengases as refinishing does. Buying secondhand goods means that the energy and natural resources that went into creating those goods have already been used. So, you’re not creating a demand for new items that require additional energy or deplete even more natural resources.
Last but certainly not least, when you buy used you’re giving those items a second life and saving them from being thrown out. Too often people think of waste reduction and recycling in terms of bottles, cans, and plastics when the reality is our homes (furniture) and other household items are big contributors to what ends up in the skips.
- High Quality Pieces
Second-hand furniture potential to last is demonstrated by its very existence. For a piece to become vintage, at least 30 years must be left behind. Those days, furniture was constructed of better materials and had a greater level of craftsmanship before the introduction of mass-produced goods. Fortunately, you can still get this level of quality by shopping for pre-loved items. These pieces have already endured the test of time, and their quality and durability will ensure that you enjoy using them for many years to come.
- No packaging
Have you ever bought something new, only to get it home and try to open it but there’s so much plastic to try and cut through? New products typically have some sort of packaging associated with them and not all of that material is recyclable.
A benefit of buying pre owned goods is that you don’t have any of that waste or mess. The items you buy used won’t come with all of the unnecessary packaging that typically just gets thrown away. You can start enjoying your new-to-you items, packaging-free.
- Supporting local businesses
By choosing pre-owned items either from charity shops or second hand store / online shop – you are supporting local cause or local business. Private business owners are more likely to invest the profit into their store providing even better, more broad options for you as a customer or they will use your pounds to support other local businesses (like bakeries or local butchers or even private refurbishment businesses for some textile goods).
