One of the things I love the most about living in a city is walking around and discovering new shops. Today I discovered the shop Episode, and I fell in love! What's so special about it?
Episode was a new discovery for me, but it's actually been around for about 10 years already. It originated from the Netherlands and has now expanded to Belgium. Judging from the constant stream of young and cool people coming in and out the store, I guessed that, at the moment, it is what you call a hotspot. And this is great news, because Episode is actually a second hand clothes shop.
I have been to several second hand shops before, but this one stands out from the crowd. Normally, I only find pieces that are too big or too small, are worn out, have strange patterns, or just don't fit well. At Episode, I was gushing about everything and had to hold myself back from buying out the store. Here, I found trendy, well-fitting and qualitative pieces.
As an added bonus, I feel better about spending my money here and not elsewhere. Here I am contributing to a circular economy. This means that all resources spent to create the clothes don't end up as waste, but are being re-used. Fast fashion stores, like most stores in the city center commercial streets (think: Zara, Primark, H&M), produce fast and cheap. So we buy more, use it once, throw it away and then buy more again. Guess where this all ends up? However, this is how Episode works:
Of course this system is not fully green, because the logistics wastes plenty of fuel. But the overall system is already an improvement, in comparison with fast fashion, as it re-uses, recycles and decreases the amount of discarded clothes ending up in landfills. If you know a trendy clothes shop whose supply chain doesn't use fuel, I'm very eager to learn about it! For now, I believe Episode already does a good job offering us a trendy AND (relatively) sustainable choice, at a perfectly affordable price. I bought this unique blouse for 15 EUR..
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About Mixua
Mixua believes that everyone can make a positive impact. That is why we want to inspire you on the way to a more ecological lifestyle. We do this through various activities such as the Eco Tours, online workshops and online discovery guide.