Why is second hand apparel so important for the planet? Because sustainability and ethical consumerism is one of the biggest issues in today’s fashion industry. Companies all around the world are looking for solutions to this problem. But to be able to solve such a large scale issue, one often needs to take a look at what is happening at the microlevel: women inherently love to look their best. Sometimes this need to look good is driven by social pressure: women feel they need to look their part at work and at the university. And sometimes women just need to celebrate their love of fashion and want to look on point and insta ready, day in day out!
Whatever the reason, all this results in irresponsible consumption of clothing rendering more than 50% of an average woman’s wardrobe useless and them going above and beyond their budget to achieve this objective.
THE PRODUCTION OF A T-SHIRT TAKES UP 2500 LITERS OF WATER: ENOUGH FOR A PERSON TO DRINK OVER 2.5 YEARS
On a macro level, this social pressure to constantly revamp our wardrobes on a regular basis doesn’t only pose a pressure on our pocket. It is also the biggest cause of irresponsible consumption of clothing resulting in making the fashion industry the second biggest polluter of freshwater in the world.
Fashion produces 2.5 billion tonnes of waste globally annually! The production of 1 t-shirt takes up 2500 liters of water enough for a person to drink over 2.5 years! And this is just the tip of the ice berg!
That is why many startups incubated at IFA Foundry Fashion Tech accelerator take up the challenge os sustainability.
PROMOTING RECYCLING AND UPCYCLING REQUIRES BREAKING CLICHÉS. IN MY CASE ON SECOND HAND APPAREL
I am Sehrish Raza, the founder and CEO of BizB!
Before starting my own company, I worked for 4 years as Chief marketing officer in a digital marketing company called Codistan.
And ironically the hero of my story is also Facebook! One day I was scrolling through Facebook and I stumbled across a girl’s post who had put up her wedding dress for sale. I stole her idea not only to start my own business but also to save a ton of money on my own wedding!
Upon research I found out that there was a very strong demand for good quality preloved apparel in the Pakistani market. Yet there wasn’t even one platform that housed a variety of preloved apparel: the best option people had was to buy and sell through Facebook groups.
But a lot of fraud happened which halted the acceptance of second-hand fashion especially on our market where wearing second hand is considered a taboo.
I decided to take this up as a challenge and I built a platform which would not only help people get access to second hand apparel but also break the negative image connected with it!
EVERY WARDROBE IS A FASHION STORE. SECOND HAND WEDDING DRESSES ARE JUST A START
BizB aims at transforming every household’s wardrobe into a fashion store to become the biggest retailer of stylish preloved apparel in Pakistan.
Sustainability becomes stylish and women enjoy their love of fashion without burning a hole through their pocket. Actually, they can easily make money off of their wardrobe, all while sitting in the comfort of their home.
We have to date served more than 6000 customers housing an inventory of 4000 which increases by 70-100 every day!
My journey from introducing people to the concept of smart buying to showcasing it as the new biggest trend in fashion has been a rollercoaster ride which has just begun!
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