For many fashion lovers, September is one of the most important months on the calendar. Not only does it herald the start of various fashion weeks, but it’s also when many of us ditch our summer wardrobes and shop for the new season’s designs.

However, our love of new clothes has become increasingly unsustainable. According to Oxfam, every week 11m items of clothing end up in landfill. And recent studies show the textile industry creates more CO 2 emissions than aviation and shipping combined.

In an attempt to combat fast fashion, the charity has launched Second Hand September, a campaign that urges people not to buy new clothing for 30 days. To mark the occasion, we asked our readers to share the stories behind their favourite vintage finds.

Tracy Keown: ‘I found this gem for £4.99’ Photograph: Eleni Stefanou

Tracy Keown, 46, charity shop manager

I was going through an unhappy period of my life and during that time I gained six stone. After losing weight, I decided to celebrate my birthday – something I hated doing – and wanted something nice to wear. Being a single mum on benefits meant I had a tiny budget. I found this gem for £4.99 and in a size 10 (I previously wore 18-plus).

Now I am a working single mum – I’m the manager of a charity shop. Because we sell mainly children’s goods, I am surrounded by kids all day and they are just amazing. We don’t sell our goods at ridiculously high prices as we believe everyone has the right to access affordable clothes. I often do £1 sales on all children’s clothes so people can buy essential items.

Michelle Ezeuko: ‘I’ve had jumpers from charity shops that have lasted years’

Michelle Ezeuko, 23, law student, campaigner and activist



I love shocking people when they realise this outfit is from a charity shop and it only cost £5 – £3 for the pants and £2 for the jacket.

I give workshops and talk at panels about “hostile environment” immigration policies. I’m always talking about how bad things are, so when I can rock up in my favourite outfits and look colourful and happy, it helps me feel good about the work I do. It also throws some positive energy into the room.

Yes, Primark is cheap, however I’ve had jumpers from charity shops that have lasted five years and are still in great condition. The only time I enjoy shopping is when I charity shop. It’s a slower process, of course. You can’t rush it because your dream piece could be anywhere. I hate shopping in high-street shops. I hate the rush of it, I hate that everything looks the same and I’m going to pay loads of money just to look like everyone else.

Jayson Mansaray: ‘I am basically trying to replicate my grandfather in the 70s’

Jayson Mansaray, 29, arts journalist and presenter

I got a job co-presenting the Royal Academy programme on BBC2 with Kirsty Wark and I needed five outfits, so I went hunting for a few extra tops. Friends commented about how huge my wardrobe budget must have been. In reality, there was no budget and most of the outfits were secondhand, including this one.

This top reminds me of my grandfather Hosea. I am basically trying to replicate him in the 70s. He oozed cool. I was first introduced to ‘op-shops’, as they were called in Australia, where I grew up, by my mum and aunty in the 90s. Back then I thought it was very uncool and only wanted to wear brand new Reebok pumps and Fido Dido outfits.

I love buying new clothes but friends of mine who make social justice documentaries have taught me to think about the supply chain and conditions for workers, so these days I feel reluctant to just buy new.

Carrie Gaunt: ‘It makes me smile every time I look at in my wardrobe’

Carrie Gaunt, 29, childminder

This is my favourite thing in my wardrobe. When I bought it a couple of years ago, a corner was just peeking out on a stuffed-to-the-brim row of clothes and I thought, ‘I don’t know what that is but, however much it costs, I know I need it in my life’. It still blows my mind that 80s Marks & Spencer could have produced something so incredibly vibrant and unique. It makes me smile every time I look at it in my wardrobe – it’s like the sartorial equivalent of wearing a rainbow.

I first started charity shopping in 2012 when I was at uni in Durham. I’ve been shopping entirely secondhand from 2016. Because there’s so much variety, I feel more inclined to be creative with my own style.

Ned Mulready: ‘I really like buying clothes’

Ned Mulready, 14, student

I purchased this jumper from an RSPCA charity shop. I didn’t go into the shop for anything in particular, but when I saw this jumper I thought that it was something I would wear and a great way to recycle something that would otherwise have gone to waste. I wear it all the time – I especially like it with some shirts that I have.

I have been buying clothes from charity shops for as long as I can remember. It used to be just a one-off thing to do if I was passing by, but now I try to make a conscious effort to get my clothes from charity shops. I really like buying clothes, but when buying new clothes I always have an underlying sense of the huge problem that this industry is causing for the environment and how much better it would be if more people bought secondhand clothes.

• This article was amended on 27 January 2020 to remove a disputed fact.