Israel: Second-hand clothes, future of fashion?

When you walk through the door of Aderet on Bograshov Street in Tel Aviv, you find yourself inside the world of "second-hand" fashion, a little paradise for style enthusiasts - second-hand clothes, bags, jewelry, sunglasses, or sports and evening wear - everything has been recycled but looks like new.

Israel's coastal city Tel Aviv has around thirty shops of this type. It is a trend in tune with the times, which is developing at breakneck speed and reaching an increasingly large audience. Concern for the environment, concern for savings, or simply the desire to find original items - there are many reasons that lead Israelis to turn to this booming phenomenon. 

Desire to stand out

After working in a large clothing chain in Israel and then in the United States, Ophira Oberweger opened her first second-hand store in Tel Aviv in 2004: That’s how Aderet was born. A small revolution in this sector, which few Israelis were familiar with back then.

“Fashion has been running through my veins since I was little,” Ophira said.

“In the 1980s-1990s in Israel, the second hand was something that was neither widespread nor well seen, especially where I lived in Krayot near Haifa. People didn't understand my choice. And then the low prices that were offered attracted me, second-hand was really inexpensive compared to new clothing and therefore very practical for young women and girls, who didn't have a lot of money yet," she added.

Every year, 20 million tons of fashion items are thrown away worldwide and 30 percent of the clothes Ophira receives have never been worn, some even arriving with the tag. The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world after the oil industry. For comparison - to produce synthetic clothing every year, the textile industry uses a material equivalent to 3,000 billion plastic bottles.

More than half of the clothes we wear are made of polyester, a type of plastic derived from petroleum. Nearly 70 gallons of water are needed to produce a cotton shirt and cotton crops require more pesticides than any other crop in the world.

"Over the years, the notions of ecology and sustainability have come into play, it's something I've always paid attention to without even being aware of it, then I also applied it to fashion,“ said Ophira.

Quality original items

Three years ago, Ophira opened another store adjacent to Aderet - Argaman - a second-hand shop with items by leading designers and high-end brands such as Gucci, Isabel Marant, YSL, and Chanel. The clothes are also meticulously selected according to various criteria. In addition to the quality and condition of the items, Ophira chooses products that she is sure will sell out very quickly and does not take Israeli brands - such as Castro, Renuar, or the basics from H&M, Zara, and Aliexpress, which people find everywhere - in order to preserve the authentic and eclectic character of the store.

Indeed, most Israelis who turn to second-hand are looking for a low-cost wardrobe, which they are sure will not be copied anywhere. This is a challenge for which Ophira works hard on a daily basis, making her shop a veritable Ali-Baba’s Cave for fashionistas.

"About half of my customers want to stand out from the crowd, and unearth in my shops rare pearls that they will never find elsewhere: I have pieces very old as well as very new, the latest fashion, accessories, elegant clothes, for young people, but also vintage, everyone can find what they are looking for," explained Ophira.

Evolution of the clientele over the years

Eighteen years ago, only Tel Aviv's hip customers in their 20s crowded Ophira's boutique. But over the years, her clientele expanded and diversified. In the 2000s, people who followed fashion and had observed this concept abroad wished to find it in Israel, thus making second-hand shops popular. Young hipsters in particular have taken an interest in second-hand, and for the past 10 years, young teenagers have been coming with their parents because they discovered this type of fashion on social media.

"With the coronavirus, the trend exploded, because people were at home and understood that there were alternatives, they had time to tidy up and sell their clothes. You now see people who would never have come before, like ladies of a certain age, who only shopped in malls and who suddenly understand that it is a new universe style that opens up to them," said Ophira.

Yanita, a resident of Tel Aviv, has become aware of the attractive side of the second hand during the coronavirus pandemic.

"At that time I was living in a village in the south and on Fridays there was a small second-hand market with people selling their clothes for one shekel apiece. That's when I fell in love with this idea. Little by little, I looked into the phenomenon and I discovered shops in Dizengoff (a street in Tel Aviv) but also the Abraham hostel which organized this kind of event. It is a very good solution, so no more clothes remain in the closet without being worn," she told i24NEWS.

Trend of the future

Having always more or less existed on the fashion scene in Israel, from the 1970s to 1990s, the second hand mainly had a place of choice at the flea markets in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa and in Haifa. It has gradually conquered the hearts of big cities and is no longer associated solely with being cheap.

"I always knew that this phenomenon was going to become widespread, today it is something very common, there are even some (second-hand stores) in shopping centers. Every person who loves style and fashion understands today that second-hand is part of a new way of approaching clothing," assured Ophira.

The International Organization of Zionist Women (Wizo), created in 1920, also plays a leading role in the field of second-hand clothing in Israel. With no less than four stores in Jerusalem, two in Tel-Aviv, and one in Netanya, Wizo allows Israelis to dress four times cheaper than in traditional stores while buying quality clothes.

“In Jerusalem, we have a huge vat where people drop off things which are then sorted daily by four to five volunteers. The best things are sold in our shops and the rest to a company by weight. Previously, people were reluctant to buy second-hand, but since Covid, we have seen a real increase in visits to Wizo stores. The prices are attractive and it is an opportunity for the population to save money while buying very beautiful pieces," said Peggy Cohen, president of Wizo in Jerusalem.

By offering a huge choice and very competitive prices, the second hand could indeed become a must in a few years. According to fashion analysts, second-hand sales in the world in stores and online should within 10 years exceed sales of new clothing.