Student Shopping in St Andrews: how can we change our buying practices?

By Ava Killbourn 

As young people living in a small, but crowded, rural town, finding clothes that are good for the environment, affordable, and in-style presents a stiff challenge. Here, there is an almost complete lack of physical clothing stores that cater to the wants of the student body. Charity shops offer the occasional gem and apps like Depop and Vinted can allow students access to a considerable catalogue of second-hand options but sorting through the clutter on these sites can be time-consuming and unreliable for outfit needs on short notice. Ultimately, most students resort to shopping online from brands that offer fast shipping, the latest fashions, and cheap prices as really the only ways to find specific pieces that can arrive on time for a weekend party.

Nasty Gal offers a dupe of Paris Hilton’s iconic metallic dress for only £31

When speaking to a range of students of different ages, identities and backgrounds about their fashion habits, the unsurprising commonality was the importance of ease in the student shopping experience. Most felt that sustainability was out of their budget when looking at small businesses and brands online. Thrifting is perfect for the casual browse, but finding a specific item in a specific size requires patience, time, and quite a lot of luck.

However, establishing ways for St Andrews students to trade and buy clothes from another allows for the ease, speed, and inexpensiveness that they prioritize. There have been valiant efforts to encourage a closed clothing system in St Andrews; Sustainable Style has hosted several thrift pop-ups and swaps, the most recent in collaboration with VS, and the Union also occasionally holds vintage and thrift sales. But I believe that inter-student trading and buying has the most potential for lessening fast-fashion consumption and encouraging ethical buying practices amongst St Andrews students. If these pop-ups could increase in regularity, be organized by a variety of different societies, and cater to popular party themes or upcoming events, we may be able to reduce the number of online orders shipped into this town every day.

VS/Sustainable Style Pop up image from Facebook

For now, your best bet is to catch the pop-ups that do happen and take advantage of the vintage and thrift sales as they come into town. Keeping an eye on Facebook can help you plan for upcoming events. If possible, carve out a little time in your week, just as a break from working or as an incorporation into your daily walk, to pop into charity shops and have a quick look around. They will always have knick-knacks like costume jewellery and cookware, even if the clothes on the racks aren’t to your taste.

My personal favorite eBay find:
a 1980’s Nordic wool jumper, £20

For those that are willing to brave the vast online expanses of eBay, Depop, or Vinted, try to apply as many filters as possible to slim down your field. I especially like to apply price and size limits, to automatically exclude anything out of my budget and anything that won’t fit me. Avoid using popular tags like 'y2k' and search instead by material, sleeve length, color, etc. For those that are willing to save up for a nicer item, Ecocult has a good article on the benefits of choosing to support sustainable and ethical luxury brands over conventional luxury brands. Etsy also has a wide array of small businesses that provide stunning, handmade, ethical items if you are willing to pay for it.

Happy shopping!