Plastic Free July: Hamilton consignment store owner declares war on fast-fashion

Again & Again consignment store owner Jahdiel Mason is dedicated to both her passions of reusing and fighting fast fashion. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Waikato waste minimisation champion Jahdiel Mason has not only declared war on fast fashion, but she also strongly advocates for reusing and reducing waste.

With these goals in mind, she founded the Hamilton consignment store Again & Again which specialises in gently worn designer clothing and accessories.

Fast fashion is cheap, trendy clothing, that is made at break-neck speed and reportedly uses cheap labour, violating human rights. It’s the third most polluting industry in the world, following food and construction.

“There is an overconsumption of fast fashion and I like to encourage everyone to think about the choices they are making when shopping,” Mason says.

When heading out the door, her handbag always has a reusable bowl, cup and water bottle and more often than not, she is wearing a pre-loved outfit.

Appreciating pre-loved goods is something Mason grew up with and she loves seeing it more accepted.

“Waste reduction has always been second nature for me. For many people, it’s too hard or not convenient and with second-hand clothing, it’s the same thing. When I was growing up, there was a lot of stigma around it, however buying pre-loved is becoming more accepted.”

Many customers coming into her store don’t even realise they are browsing pre-loved clothing.

“Some people are always surprised when they find we’re a pre-loved clothing store because it all looks so good. That’s what we want to encourage people to see, you can get nice clothing that’s pre-loved and could still have a lot of life in it,” Mason says.

“Someone might have bought it and it’s not quite right for them, so they want to move it on to a home that’s going to love it.”

For her sustainability also goes beyond the clothing and accessories: Mason reuses the clothing tags and encourages people to bring in their paper shopping bags.

“Lots of people do their online shopping and end up with all these brown bags which they throw into recycling, so we encourage people to bring them in and we will gratefully reuse them.”

Again & Again also partners with several local charities.

“We work with Dress for Success, an organisation helping women get back into the workforce. We also work with Hospice... and the Breast Cancer Research Op Shop because we love what they do and what they stand for.”