‘Because secondhand is feckin’ grand’: how clothes swapping became huge in Ireland

After seeing the consequences of fast fashion, one woman is on a mission to change the way we think about repurposing clothes

Mary Fleming was on holiday in Kenya when she saw it: a mound of secondhand clothes heaped by a river, the pile so vast and unruly it was spilling into the water.

The sight shocked her. At home in Ireland she was a passionate shopper and bought a new outfit almost every weekend. Now in east Africa she was seeing the consequence of fast fashion and mass consumption.