Over the past few years, we’ve heard the term sustainable fashion used more than once. Sustainable fashion is a concept that focuses on creating clothes that protect the environment and the people who make them. It involves minimizing CO2 emissions, resolving overproduction, reducing pollution, waste, promoting biodiversity, and ensuring fair salaries and safe working conditions for textile workers. This approach aims to minimize environmental impact and promote a more sustainable future for all.
Having established the meaning of sustainable fashion, the question of how we as consumers can contribute to this course remains. Over in the western parts, Hollywood stars like Cate Blanchett have quietly become sustainable red carpet dressers, often rewearing a series of her old favorite archive collections. “It’s chic to repeat”, Elizabeth Stewart (her stylist) said of her Esteban Cortázar gown, Alexander McQueen dress, and Acne suit worn during La Biennale di Venezia.
Urban/Gen Z youths all over the world including Nigeria have gradually become more interested in sustainable fashion methods like thrifting. Thrifting involves buying used clothing. By extending the life of pre-owned clothing this reduces waste and pollution.
In Nigeria, a popular slang commonly heard in thrift markets in Yaba (Lagos State) and Mile One (Rivers State) is Na mumu dey go boutique, which loosely translates to “only fools shop at boutiques.” This generally just shows the perception and popularity that many people associate with pre-owned products. That said, we were able to meet up with Litos Man, who actually supports a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future with thrift fashion.
How to look Good Without Breaking the bank—that’s how fashion influencer Vincent Ebuka, aka Litos Man (from Imo State), starts his videos, often showing the prices, the best spots, and of course how to style them. As you read on, you’ll get to discover Litos and the driving force behind him
He talks about his love for African-branded clothes and thrift shopping in general when asked about how the idea came about: “Firstly, I love African-branded clothes, and I have been promoting them on my page. Then again, I love thrifting due to the amount of stuff I get there; I love to stand out with my style.” Take a look at A-list stars who more than often champion the idea of secondhand and vintage shopping to create never-before-seen looks, so yes, we understand when Litos speaks about finding treasures in thrift stores. In his words, “I felt I should let people know about this treasure in thrift stores and how cheap they are for those who can’t exactly afford tagged clothes.”
With over 213.4 million people living in Nigeria in 2021 and 63% of these people living in poverty, wearing luxury clothes would be the last thing on many people’s minds. Now, in no way is thrift or sustainability fashion only for the poor, but it helps to know that our adoption of these methods advocated by people like Litos can significantly reduce our overall environmental impact and, of course, save money.
What should be the expected budget when going thrift shopping? Litos says, “It all depends on what you want and the quantity you need, but with ₦10,000, you can get beautiful stuff.” Presently based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, one of his favorite thrift markets is the Mile 1 market—a multipurpose market offering food, clothing, and electronics in Diobu metropolis in Port Harcourt.
Due to a wide variety of shops, making a dedicated list would go a long way, “Make a list of things you need before going to the market so you don’t end up buying a lot of rubbish.
Surprisingly, just as brand new clothes can be divided into different camps like cheap and luxury, it is often profitable to go for “first-grade” thrift wear, as they are of higher quality and last longer.
Issues of harrasement and insecurity is usually a major challenge when it comes to thrift shopping especially in these over crowded markets all over Nigeria, for Litos it is important to know the nature of the market before “It all depends on where you are shopping. It better to visit less busy market and also dress casually so to avoid harassment.”
In conclusion, we can agree that Litos definitely makes thrift shopping look good, and we are here for it!
