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Is buying secondhand always the more ethical choice?
Short answer
Almost always for clothing, furniture and books, because the manufacturing impact is already spent. The exceptions are appliances and electronics, where an efficient new model can beat an old one over its lifetime, and safety-critical items like car seats, helmets and cots.
The detail
For a cotton T-shirt, roughly all of the water, pesticide and labour impact happened before it reached its first owner. Extending a garment's life by nine months cuts its carbon, water and waste footprint by around 20–30% (WRAP).
For a 15-year-old fridge or a tumble dryer, running energy dominates the lifetime footprint, so replacing it with a high-efficiency model usually pays back environmentally within a few years.
At a glance
- Buy secondhand
- Clothing, furniture, books, tools, kitchenware, toys, bikes.
- Consider new
- Fridges, freezers, washing machines, boilers — check the energy label.
- Buy new always
- Car seats, cycle helmets, cot mattresses, anything with a recall history.