Secondhand fashion was supposed to be the solution to fast fashion. The better way forward is that we have enough clothes to dress six generations, and that most of those end up in deserts or on beaches in faraway countries.

Despite the rise in climate awareness, despite growing concerns about overconsumption, and despite the cultural moment we’re in, secondhand fashion is still failing to reach its goal. The goal isn’t just to exist. It’s to convert, to inspire action, to shift real consumer behavior toward sustainable consumption.

It’s not enough to be ethical. It needs to be desirable. And for that, we need to talk about psychology.

The human brain is wired for ease

Fashion brands have long understood this. They don’t just sell clothing; they sell experiences designed to work with the brain, not against it. Stores are built around the way people process visual information, how they respond to sensory environments, and how they make decisions. It’s all psychology.

In contrast, most secondhand spaces, physical and digital, tend to ignore this and miss the point. They expect intention alone to carry the customer through a chaotic, long, demanding, and often confusing experience. But that’s not how the brain works.

Let’s break it down through three simple examples among many more existing:

Example 1: the problem of chaos

Walk into a typical secondhand store. What you find is often a wall of unfiltered, unsorted options. Clothes are rarely organized by size, season, or color. Sizes are hidden inside garments, not displayed visibly. There’s no clear system to guide you through.

From the brain’s perspective, this is overwhelming. Every decision becomes manual. Every item must be individually inspected, decoded, and assessed. It’s not just inefficient; it’s cognitively exhausting. If it takes more time, they will run to order in 5 minutes and two clicks to Shein instead.

By contrast, in traditional retail, clothing is sorted by style, color, and size. Visual signals are everywhere: tags, signs, hanger beads, sizing, and groupings. You know where to look. You know where to start. The easier the process, the longer you stay, and the more you are likely to buy as a client. If it is hard and long and takes too many efforts… Bye-bye.

Example 2: no synchronicity with the environment

Human beings are seasonal creatures; we are naturally wired to merge, adapt, and be congruent with our surroundings. In summer, we gravitate toward lighter fabrics and colors, as it is hot and bright outside. In winter, we look for texture, weight, and depth, as it is a time of introspection through hibernation; we choose darker colors as the weather and days tend to be darker. We want our clothing to match the world around us, to help us feel in sync. We dress for the season.

Many secondhand shops do not apply this. They stock all seasons year-round. You might find a wool coat next to a bikini any time of the year. It disrupts the subconscious logic we expect as shoppers. Our brains aren’t built to make sense of seasonal dissonance. We instinctively look for what aligns with our current needs, mood, and context. When we don’t find it, we disengage, and the chance that we buy an off-season item is very low. Plus, it takes space in the store for better items that could be sold…

Example 3: no styling, no curation

Most people are not trained to create outfits. They don’t always know what top goes with which pants, what jacket works with a certain silhouette, or how to build a look from scratch.

In secondhand environments, the burden of styling is entirely placed on the consumer. Racks are mixed. Items are isolated. There are no mannequins, no lookbooks, and no visual storytelling.

Compare this to a traditional store where the shirt is placed next to the matching trousers and accessories, and the whole look is displayed on a mannequin. It’s not about freedom and fun creativity; it's about accessibility. And when that’s missing, customers freeze. They don’t buy what they can’t picture themselves doing. It is like an impossible puzzle to solve, as they miss so many pieces.

It's not just about clothes—it's about experience

Even the small details matter. Poorly designed fitting rooms with flimsy curtains, no chair, and no space to place your bag send a signal to your nervous system: this space isn’t built for you. If you feel rushed, exposed, or physically uncomfortable, you’ll leave, and your brain will remember not to return, as it was so uncomfortable and not “safe.” Shopping has become a survival camp. Budget is not the ultimate issue, as a small piece or chair and a proper curtain that closes well does not have to be made of gold; it is about thinking about the space.

We also have the problem of communication. Secondhand fashion can rarely afford to invest in advertising, storytelling, or emotional branding, while fast fashion does it obsessively, dedicating a lot of resources to sales marketing. Secondhand shops sell value. But people buy feelings. The gap between the two is vast and often unaddressed.

A call for fashion psychology

We hear it all the time lately: “People should buy secondhand. We need to buy more sustainably.” But telling people what they should do has never been an effective strategy for behavior change unless the government enacts regulations. Instead, we need to ask: What makes people want to buy? What helps them decide? What creates ease, trust, and connection?

These are psychological questions. Yet, in most sustainability conversations I’ve attended, not once have I seen a fashion psychologist at the table. Not once have I seen evidence-based strategies from behavioral science applied to secondhand retail. And too often, I notice working on those projects without being aware of it. And yet, these exact strategies are used daily by the very fashion industry we’re trying to move away from and competing with, as they offer better and faster.

We need to help secondhand fashion catch up not only in ethics but also in execution.

Conclusion: We can’t afford to miss this moment

There’s urgency in the world. There’s urgency in fashion sustainability, as this industry has grown to be one of the most polluting on the planet. Good intentions are no longer enough. The secondhand industry must evolve and develop what has worked elsewhere for the better.

This means investing in:

  • Fashion psychology.

  • Customer journey design.

  • Visual storytelling/brand concept.

  • Strategic curation.

  • Marketing and sales strategies.

  • And team training rooted in how people actually think and shop (from store to head office).

Secondhand is not failing because it lacks value. It’s failing because it forgets how the brain works. And if we don’t address that, we risk losing the opportunity to shift fashion culture where it matters most in time.