It’s Plastic Free July, a global movement encouraging people to be part of the solution to plastic pollution. During the month, Hamilton City Council's shining a light on some of the city's waste minimisation champions. The first in our limited series is Jahdiel Mason, owner of the Again & Again consignment store on Alexandra Street.
When heading out the door, Jahdiel Mason’s handbag always has a reusable bowl, cup and water bottle and more often than not, she is wearing a pre-loved outfit.
Her store is dedicated to both her passions of reusing and fighting fast fashion.
Fast fashion is cheap, trendy clothing, made at break-neck speed to meet consumer demand. Fabric is often made of cheap synthetic fibres and reportedly uses cheap labour, violating human rights. It’s the third most polluting industry in the world, following food and construction.
“There is an over consumption of fast fashion and I like to encourage everyone to think about the choices they are making when shopping,” said Mason.
Appreciating pre-loved goods has been something Mason grew up with and she loves seeing it more accepted.
“Waste reduction has always been second nature for me. For many people it’s too hard or not convenient and with second-hand clothing, it’s the same thing,” she said.
“When I was growing up, there was a lot of stigma around it, however buying pre-loved is becoming more accepted.”
The Again & Again consignment store specialises in gently worn designer clothing and accessories. Mason goes to a lot of effort to make the store look appealing, with many customers not even realising they are browsing pre-loved clothing.
“Some people are always surprised when they find we're a pre-loved clothing store, because it all looks so good. That’s what we want to encourage people to see, you can get nice clothing that’s pre-loved and could still have a lot of life in it.
“Quality brands make clothes that are meant to last. Many brands use natural fibres and are sustainable. Someone might have brought it and it’s not quite right for them, so they want to move it on to a home that’s going to love it,” said Mason.
Sustainability goes beyond the clothing and accessories. Like many consignment stories, Mason reuses the clothing tags – removing them from the clothing before they leave the store. She also encourages people to bring in their paper shopping bags.
“Lots of people do their on-line shopping and end up with all these brown bags which they throw into recycling, so we encourage people to bring them in and we will gratefully reuse them.”
The store also aligns itself with charities promoting reuse and supports people in the community.
“If people are happy to donate their clothing, we work with Dress for Success, an organisation helping women get back into the workforce. We also work with Hospice, as the money and support stays in the community, and the Breast Cancer Research Op Shop because we love what they do and what they stand for,” she said.
Mason prides herself on making sure clothes sold in store goes to homes that will love them. She cares more about making sure people are comfortable with their purchases, rather than being pressured to make a sale.
“If you are not sure, it’s probably not right for you and we will be honest about it too. We are really passionate about giving items a new home and getting love for them again and again.”
Click here to hear stories from more of Hamilton Kirikiriroa waste minimisation champions.