Why buying second-hand, pre-loved items is important for the environment

The modern-day narrative in a consumerist society is bombarded by a far greater volume of advertising and persuasion tactics. It often appears in the form of seamless digital ads that follow us around the Internet from one website to the next — much like if a sales vendor was to stalk us down the road every time we left our house. With one-click delivery and e-commerce becoming the new norm of the twenty-first century, the fate of our society is intrinsically woven into a web of hyperconsumption and mass production. But our digital eagerness, embroiled in a ‘use and throw’ culture, doesn’t come without its environmental repercussions.

As threats to the ecosystem continue to worsen, becoming a matter of global concern, one’s complacency to sustainable methods of existing on this planet can no longer be deemed as a ‘choice’. Even though the modern society thrives on economic materialism, the new-age consumer comes with agency and ownership. Social media has made it easy to oust brands for their primitive methods and unethical, unsustainable supply chain. The consumer of today reads labels, bifurcates marketing gimmicks from real movements and wants to participate in the these movements.

Capturing this very essence of the modern day shopper — of going back to basics and finding more sustainable methods of consumption — a UAE-based resident, Natasha Fownes, has established a homegrown concept of a biweekly warehouse pop-up, La Brocante. The pop-up focuses on furniture trade, including buying, selling and renting, showcasing preloved, upcycled furniture “looking for a loving and welcoming home.”

La Brocante, which quite literally translates to ‘secondhand trade’, promises a one-of-a-kind immersive experience, bringing together a community of people keen on sustainable, recyclable goods, furniture and clothes, while checking out local artworks and enjoying a hot cup of specialty coffee.

Fostering a community space for shared knowledge and collaboration, an idea that seems to have gone missing in today’s isolated shopping mall experiences, Natasha started this venture in the midst of the pandemic. “I found that a lot of people were getting very depressed and leaving the country last year, due to Covid-19. So, I wanted to create a space that I was familiar with, growing up in London — a community space where people can trade, learn how to recycle, upcycle and just connect with a community.”

Growing up near Portobello Road in London, the world’s largest antiques market that sells various kinds of unique collectables, the flea market way of furniture trade was ingrained in Natasha’s mind from an impressionable age. Reminiscing about her childhood in Portobello, Natasha adds, “Portobello is alive. It’s vibrant, it’s diverse, it’s cultural, you can hear every different type of music and see every different type of person. But the most amazing thing is, walking down the road, you also have some incredible craftsmanship and takeaways from the antique shops.” It is this very spirit of feeling alive with a sense of community that motivated Natasha to bring a bit of Portobello to Dubai.

“What I had understood as a result of the pandemic was that prior to this, people’s basic skills had gone missing. Painting, planting your own pots, doing your own hair, baking bread, cooking a meal for yourself. So many people enjoyed taking back their ownership of these skills — of creating something themselves. People were going back to traditional craftsmanship and DIY.”